Toxic
by Snow Wing
Summary: He was searching for her, the serial killer responsible for many murders. She was running from him, the man who sealed her fate. Together, it was a wild chase in the deserted streets of the Rukongai, both looking for a forbidden love.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Bleach.**

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**Prologue**

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**Seireitei, Capital of the Kuchiki Kingdom  
****March, Midnight**

Everything was peaceful and quiet. It was the full moon. The cloudless night permitted the shiny silver sphere to illuminate the Kuchiki kingdom.

A silhouette was walking soundlessly on a deserted road. Trees lined each side of the road, demarcating its borders clearly. The road was covered with small pebbles and dead leaves. The Royal Prisons were straight ahead and the girl was walking fearlessly toward its intimidating form.

A long black cloak was draped over her shoulders and a hood hid her features. Nothing more could be seen of her other than a few strands of black hair framing her face.

It was a cold night and the only noise was made by the howling wind.

She paused in front of the ominous metal doors of the Royal Prisons. The building was intimidating, but it didn't affect her. There were no guards in sight, a fact that made absolutely no difference. The only little obstacle was that metal lock, but that really wasn't a problem for her. The lock seemed solid enough, so brute force would be unnecessary and futile. Picking the lock would take too much time and time was exactly what she didn't have. She had seen the guards leave to patrol other places in the city, but they would soon return. She didn't have much time, but it was enough.

She took out a small flask which contained a transparent liquid. She let one single drop fall into the keyhole of the solid lock, ensuring that it didn't make contact with her skin, and put the flask back. She waited for a couple of seconds before she pulled on the lock. It broke easily.

She slipped in without making a sound and proceeded downstairs, where the most dangerous criminals were kept. She walked calmly to a two inch thick metal door with the number seven engraved on it. There was only a very small opening on the door, allowing a restricted amount of candle light inside. She looked through with her professional eyes and quickly found what she was looking for.

Where anyone else would've been blinded by the darkness, the girl, unaffected, stared fixedly at the prisoner inside cell number seven. He was heavily chained and his mobility was restrained. He was having a light sleep in a sitting position. He was going to be released the next day, but he didn't deserve freedom. The Investigation Department knew about his crimes, but still decided to let it slip. They didn't want to keep him in jail any longer for some reason, but the girl didn't need a reason or a permission to kill him. He was her target.

She decided to destroy the lock the same way she dealt with the previous one and took out the small flask. It was over in a matter of seconds and the girl walked into the room.

She looked at her victim icily. He hasn't woken yet, probably dreaming about his release. There was little point; the girl wasn't going to let him live long enough to experience that moment. "You, who would go as far as hurting others, would you like to have a taste of _death_?" she said as she approached him.

The man woke up immediately. His senses were still sharp enough to sense the threat. His eyes, accustomed to the darkness, allowed him a clear view of the girl standing before him.

"Who are you?" were the last words the man said before he closed his eyes for eternity.

The moonlight shone on her katana as she slashed at him.

"I'm a Shinigami."

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- Snow Wing -

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The girl, having accomplished her mission, left as silently as she had come. She served her master and followed his instructions and hoped for a better world. She hoped for a world free of sins and crimes, a world without sinners and criminals. She was hoping for something foolish, striving for an impossible goal and looking forward for a hopeless happy ending.

She hated killing, but was not afraid of it. No, it wasn't killing. It was simply eliminating unwanted people. They were criminals and everyone should treat them without any mercy. Criminals hadn't shown mercy when they slaughtered their victims. Why, then, should other people show mercy to them?

She had promised to herself that she would kill every single one of those detestable outlaws. It had been a childhood dream at first until something horrible had occurred in her life and made it her ultimate goal. She would do anything to achieve that goal, even if the cost was her life. She was motivated by a part of her past, by something she was unable to forgive and forget, by something that had forced her into this cursed life.

Being unable to move on was something, but being trapped in the past was something else. Her pure heart had been blackened and changed. It had been tainted with evil and pure hatred. She was looking for revenge.

No one was happy with what they got, but that was life. Those who would go as far as hurting others would have a taste of death and those who would let the sinners have their way without a fight were doomed to suffer forever.

Life is cruel.

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**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter One** is coming up next!

Next time on **Toxic **: It's the beginning of a new story; it's the beginning of _my_ story.

I, Hinamori Momo, am a waitress at a famous tea shop. I have worked there for a _very long time_ and let me tell you how despicable Royal Officers are. They like to flirt (too bad most of them are actually really good looking) and they like to mess with girls like me. Yes, I do look frail. So what? Ever heard about 'Things are not always what they seem'?

That white haired shorty is going to get a piece of my mind.

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Thanks for reading. Please send me your feedback by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	2. Introduction to the Kuchiki Kingdom

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

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**Chapter One**

- Introduction to the Kuchiki Kingdom -

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**District 7, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****March 20th, Morning**

It was a time where Emperors and Empresses still existed. It was a time where Lords and Ladies were ruling over countries. It was a time where Kings and Queens made the laws. It was a time where peasants were treated poorly, where nobles were cold and cruel, where nothing but gold was valued.

It was a time where killing, murdering and assassinating were as common as eating and breathing. It was a time where death was lurking in every corner, waiting to seize its prey. It was a time where some people's lives could be as meaningless as dust while others' lives were valued more than anything.

It was a world without stability, but it was a time of peace.

In the Kuchiki Kingdom, ruled by King Kuchiki Byakuya, things were under control. Very few people complained; when they did, the King would send help, but it didn't mean that he was paying attention to his people. If the complaint didn't seem particularly urgent, he would simply brush off the matter and move on to other things.

Even in this chaotic society, there were ordinary people who managed to live on without attracting too much unwanted attention from the governors. However, there was something called luck and usually, they had more than their fair share.

A young girl around seventeen stepped bravely on the busy streets, skillfully making her way through. The markets had just opened and many people were out there to buy the necessities of the day. It was very noisy, but anyone who lived there eventually got used to it.

She wore a simple midnight blue kimono decorated with white feathers at the bottom. The loose sleeves ending at her elbows were very practical. A long, pale green ribbon was tied around her waist instead of the traditional obi.

She was heading for the famous Urahara Tea House. The existence of coffee was still unknown to the Kingdom, but tea was very popular.

The tea house was like a small tower. The first two floors were meant for customers and the third floor was reserved for special events. The fourth floor contained a guest room for occasional activities or festivities in town. There was a kitchen on the first two floors and the storage room was in the basement.

She could hear someone playing the Pipa, a Chinese lute, to entertain the customers. She smiled when she heard an enthusiastic round of applause as the song took an end. She entered the tea house and greeted several customers before she reached the kitchens.

"You're late, Hinamori," said a small boy when he saw her. It was his way of greeting people.

"Good morning, Jinta-kun," said Hinamori as she smiled at him.

Jinta wasn't the type to show his affection freely, so he hardly ever gave compliments or proper greetings. Hinamori knew that he was a very nice boy on the inside who simply didn't know how to express his feelings. For that reason, she was never offended when he made rude remarks and defended him when the customers got angry.

"Hinamori-san, it's nice to see you!" said Urahara Kisuke, the owner of the tea house.

As usual, he was floating in an overly large kimono fanning with a paper fan. He was leaning on the wall, looking out through the large window. He was a man in his late twenties with blond hair and a typical stripped hat. With the hat shadowing his eyes, it made him look mysterious. He was a nice man with a very foolish and funny behavior, but when the occasion called for it, he could act as seriously as the never-smiling King of the Kingdom.

"It's nice to see you too, Urahara-san," replied the young girl with a small bow.

"There are important officers from the Royal Army waiting for someone to take their orders," said Urahara, getting straight to business. "I heard that these new customers are highly ranked in the army and had a lot of influence."

Hinamori grimaced at the information. Urahara obviously wanted her to serve them and he was well aware of her hate for officers. They were usually young perverted men who loved to brag about their achievements, which were rarely anything impressive. They also gave Hinamori a hard time by flirting with her while she only wanted to get away (If she didn't get away, she would have punched them and end up getting fired by Urahara). Unlike the other waitresses who fought among themselves to serve a rich, influencing and powerful customer, Hinamori preferred normal people who didn't think they owned whatever they laid eyes on.

After a few years of working experiences, she concluded that officers were total jerks with no manners whatsoever, but she was on for a big surprise that might even change her definition of 'officers'.

"Hinamori-san, give them a great impression of this shop by using your amazing tea brewing skills. Now, go ahead, don't make them wait," said Urahara with a smile.

"I'm coming," said Hinamori with a sigh.

Many requested for Hinamori's tea. There were rumors all over the Kingdom about a young beautiful tea brewer famous for her skills and knowledge of tea. However, Hinamori often wondered if it wasn't the tea house's reputation that had made her tea so famous.

She made her way toward the two customers Urahara had pointed out earlier, avoiding gracefully the other workers who had their arms full of plates and cups.

The tea house was slowly filling up with all kinds of people. Some wanted a quiet place to think, others came to enjoy the different delicacies the shop offered while most were simply there for a quick healthy breakfast on their way to work.

When her customers came to view, she saw a young lady with strawberry blond hair framing her matured body with a teenage boy with spiky white hair sitting opposite of her. They didn't look like the usual 'despicable officers' the tea house welcomed and seemed much more civilized. Both of them were wearing large black kimonos, representative of the Royal Army.

_'They don't seem very 'high ranked' to me,'_ thought Hinamori.

First of all, the two were way too young to be seated officers. It wasn't impossible, but it did take a lot of hard work to get such a powerful position. The Royal Army was no joke. Second of all, they didn't look like fighters, but more like peacemakers. It wasn't a friendly face that would get you anywhere on the battlefield. To sum it up, they were a real disappointment physically.

It wasn't her place to judge them; she wasn't what she seemed either. She understood the fact that all had secrets to keep; the only difference was that some could keep it better than others.

She placed a sweet smile on her face as she reached their table. "Good day to you, Miss, Sir. I am Hinamori Momo, at your service. How may I help you today?"

The lady smiled at her and looked back at the menu, trying to make a decision. The tea and the sweets were very tempting and she had a hard time choosing. "What do you suggest?"

Hinamori was ready. Like a spy on a perilous mission, all her senses were on alert. She had to please the new customers; her performance of 'the perfect waitress' must be impeccable. With a polite tone, she answered without missing a beat, "Jasmine tea would be a good choice. Green tea is a classic, but jasmine tea suits most people's taste. Would you like to try it?"

Hinamori's customer closed the menu and put it back on the table, making up her mind. "It does sound tempting. Alright, I'll try that."

Hinamori smiled at her and turned toward her other customer and waited for his order. The young man didn't seem to see her as his eyes scanned the large scroll he was holding in his hands.

The lady decided that it was best not to disturb him and picked up the menu once again. "For Cap, I mean, for him," she said while she pointed at the young boy beside her before flipping through the menu once again.

Hinamori saw that she was hesitating a lot between the various drinks that the tea house offered. "Miss, I'd like to suggest some black tea for the gentleman accompanying you."

Hinamori wasn't stupid. She could see the large blue eyes dart from side to side once in a while, as if something or someone could attack them suddenly.

_'He doesn't need to be so tense; I'm serving tea in enemy territory. I won't ambush him or anything of the sort. What a strange behavior,'_ she thought.

"Would that be okay?" she asked her two customers.

Once again, it was the lady who answered. "Yes, it will be fine."

She bowed at them, meaning that she understood their order, and went back to the kitchens where she could prepare the tea.

Jasmine flower was her favorite kind and black tea was also a good choice.

The tea somehow matched her customers' personalities. The lady resembled Jasmine tea: mostly bitter, but also sweet in her own way. She looked severe and serious when that smile couldn't hide it, but Hinamori knew that she had a very generous and kind side to her personality.

The black tea was just like the teenage boy who was near adulthood. Its color was extremely dark, almost pitch black, hinting for mystery. The boy was indeed a mystery to her; he seemed different from the other kids. It wasn't easy to get into an army and the boy, who couldn't have been more than twenty, was already part of the Royal Army, the strongest of all.

Shaking away all those thoughts, she carefully poured the tea into two small cups. She put the cups on a tray and brought the freshly made tea to her customers. She wasn't supposed to judge them no matter how strange or suspicious they seemed to be.

The lady thanked her as Hinamori gently laid the cup in front of her.

Her other customer had finally finished reading. He didn't say anything and stared at Hinamori with intense blue eyes. She stared back without fear; chocolate brown eyes sunk into icy blue ones. It lasted for a few seconds before Hinamori turned around to face the lady customer. "Is there anything else that you need?"

"No, it's fine, thank you."

"Then, please excuse me," Hinamori said as she left.

As soon as Hinamori was out of earshot, the lady scolded, "That was quite rude! You should have said something." She eyed the boy beside her while sipping her freshly made tea. He completely ignored her remark.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, Captain Hitsugaya!"

He shot her a glare. "Matsumoto, keep it down. We don't want others to know that we are here."

"Fine," whispered Matsumoto, speaking in a barely audible voice to prove that she could be discreet.

Hitsugaya was still thinking about Hinamori and he wasn't really paying attention to his Lieutenant, only half listening to her speech.

"Don't you think that she's...abnormal?"

"...and it was really good. Sorry, what were you saying, Captain?"

"The waitress, don't you think that she's a bit outstanding?"

Matsumoto had been interrupted so suddenly that it took her a few seconds before understanding what Hitsugaya meant. She didn't know what was so abnormal about Hinamori, but she had also learned not to expect any flaws in Hitsugaya's reasoning. However, it didn't mean that she wouldn't argue with him until he could convince her with hard evidence. "She's not abnormal. You're just imagining things."

The white haired boy shook his head and insisted on his point of view. "I'm telling you that she's not the average type of girls you meet everyday."

The way he said it didn't sound exactly the way he meant it. What he said could be mistaken for, 'She's different from other girls and she's really special to me', but what he meant was, 'She's different, but in a bad way. It's possible that she's not as innocent as she appears'.

"Having a crush on her?" teased the lady even though she understood what he really meant.

"You're out of your mind," commented the young boy. "I didn't mean abnormal in that way!"

"I thought otherwise..." said Matsumoto innocently.

"As if I'll ever fall in love," Hitsugaya replied as he rolled his eyes. '_Well, it did happen once, but that was a long time ago. I don't even know if I'll be able to see her again,'_ thought the young man.

"Then, what's so abnormal about her?"

Hitsugaya didn't answer her immediately. A messenger from the palace had just passed by discreetly and handed a scroll sealed with the Royal Crest. He opened it and scanned through the lines quickly. "This is bad. Hurry up, we need to get back."

He finished his tea in a single gulp and stood up, ready to leave. He didn't want to answer Matsumoto's previous question and the scroll was the perfect reason. He himself didn't know what was so abnormal about the girl. The feeling came from his instincts, like a hunch. The lady slammed down some coins and was ready to go. She couldn't make him wait, not when the King needed them.

"What is it this time?" Matsumoto asked as Hitsugaya already climbed on a rooftop and was jumping away quickly with every graceful leap he took.

"The prisoner we caught a week ago is dead. The only witness we had is gone."

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**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Two** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : The second step is hard, harder than the first. You fear it if you know how hard the first one was, but you underestimate it if you succeeded the previous step.

I, Hitsugaya Toushirou, will not give up. A killer is on the loose and I will find him (her); he (she) will not escape me. However, I do not know why the King fears the killer. He has never expressed any concern over the cases in the past years of his reign, but this case is obviously different than the others. It seems that the whole kingdom is in danger.

No matter who it is, I will catch it.

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Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	3. Operation: Start

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Bleach.**

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**Chapter Two**

- Operation: Start -

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**Squad 10 (Captain's office), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****March 20th, Afternoon**

Seireitei, the capital of a powerful Kingdom, was a place with tight security.

The palace, home to the King, was a sumptuous place filled with riches of all sorts. Most would think that palace life was a life where servants executed the slightest wish and where beautiful ladies where there to entertain.

That was the twisted truth. The servants did exist, but very few attended other than the King himself and could care less what the other nobles wanted. The _beautiful ladies_ were only there to dance and sing for the King. Only the rejected ones, those who hadn't fulfill the requirements to be part of the group, were there to entertain the rest. If the King was in a good mood, he might let out one of two of the best ladies to show off their skills in front of a large audience.

To sum it up, palace life could be hell, especially when you were a Captain with many responsibilities.

So, on a nice sunny afternoon, the tenth squad's Captain had to work. He had to do the worst kind of work ever: _paper_work. His Lieutenant was also supposed to be working, but she wasn't doing much other than drinking Sake when (she thought) her Captain wasn't looking.

"Matsumoto, did you know that you were supposed to finish your work _before_ you get drunk?"

Matsumoto froze. Realizing she'd been caught, she laughed nervously. "Captain, there is so much to do!" she said as she looked at the huge amount of work piled in front of her. She glared as hard as she could and hoped that it would liquefy under her threatening look.

"If there is so much to do, why don't you start? It's not like the pencil and the paper will start working on their own if you glare at them. You have exactly fifty-seven minutes before we have to attend to the meeting and you better finish your work before that," Hitsugaya said without looking up from his papers.

"Paperwork is such a waste of time. It's not like I care about 'the loss of 15 kilograms of rice in District Seventy-five'," Matsumoto read off the paper in front of her. She sighed and picked up her pen unwillingly.

The Captain mentally agreed with his Lieutenant; he didn't care either about 'the need of 17 kilograms of wheat to feed the cows in District Forty-two' and he would be more than glad if he was able to spend his day doing something else than signing papers.

He sighed and urged her, "Stop complaining and hurry up."

His Lieutenant, however, hadn't finished expressing herself and wasn't about to stop until her point was perfectly clear. "Why do we get to do the paperwork? There are plenty of officers who can do this! Why should it the captains and the lieutenants? As elite members of the Gotei 13, our talent is wasted."

"Matsumoto, your time is flying by..."

She turned around in horror. "What? Captain, I can't finish this unbelievably large amount of work in _only_fifty-seven minutes!"

"Make that fifty-four minutes," the Captain replied without getting distracted from his share of work.

The Gotei 13 was an elite organization and all captains and lieutenants from the thirteen squads of the Royal Army were part of it. Hitsugaya envied those who were free from paperwork like Zaraki Kenpachi and Kusajishi Yachiru, both from the Eleventh Squad. Neither of them could read, so the task was impossible for part of the Gotei 13 didn't mean they were schooled.

There were also Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Kurotsuchi Nemu. They were from the Twelfth Squad, which was a technology center. It was used to provide material and new weapons for the army. The two Kurotsuchis were busy, trying to invent something useful for the Kingdom. Even though most of the time their so called inventions were junk, they had still been dispensed from paperwork.

Then, there wereCaptain Unohana Retsu and Lieutenant Inoue Orihime from the Fourth Squad. They were way too busy for paperwork; surgeries, operations or other medical work took all their time.

_'Maybe I can find an excuse so that I wouldn't have to do it...'_ The young Captain's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a spy from the Second Squad.

"Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto, there is an urgent report," said the spyas he bowed to them and handed a scroll to the Captain before leaving.

It had the Gotei 13's Crest on it, which was synonym to emergency. Hitsugaya was tired, but as a Captain, he was obligated to open the scroll and execute its orders. Unlike the other captains of the Royal Army, he was still very young and the responsibilities of a Captain were crushing him.

"Matsumoto," the boy said without even lifting his head up, "Read the report."

She stood up from her desk and took it. It wasn't long before her experienced eyes had finished reading the long and complicated text. What she had learned was shocking, but the trained young lady did not let any surprise appear on her face.

"Captain, the prisoner in cell number seven wasn't the only one killed last night. It seemed that another one Interrogation Room had also been killed. They're bringing the bodies up to examine it and hadrequested everyone's presence in exactly fifteen minutes in the Twelfth Squad's main hall."

The cases for the Gotei 13 were too many to count, but there were always news ones adding to the pile.

The Captain pushed his chair back and got up from his desk. After his trip to the tea house, he still hadn't put on his Captain's uniform, which consisted of the usual black kimono with an additional white haori. His Lieutenant followed his example, putting on her Lieutenant Badge, which had the Tenth Squad's insignia on it.

They went into the Twelfth Squad's laboratory. They passed by the small white room where the bodies laid on a large table, covered by two separate white Nemu was working on them, trying to find out the cause of death. Orihime, an expert in medicine, was helping her with the task.

The other members of the Gotei 13 were in the main hall. The King sat on the throne and the captains stood in two rows with their lieutenants beside them. Orihime and Nemu stopped their work and joined them when the meeting officially started.

Everyone in the room could feel Kuchiki Byakuya's cold stare on them.

After a few minutes, the King spoke. "Ichiro, a prisoner held for questioning, died last night at the same time as Katashi, who was meant to be released tomorrow. I suspect that it's a murder. For two people, both part of the same organization in the Night Rukongai Society, to be killed on the same night sounds too good to be a mere coincidence."

The King paused and his cold eyes stared intensely at each and every onein the room. He chose Hitsugaya to be the chief examiner because he had proven to be extremely clever and capable of solving the hardest mysteries. He gave specific tasks to all thirteen squads and left the rest for Hitsugaya to organize.

The captains went into the meeting room, where there was a large table and multiple chairs. Ink, brushes and a small stack of paper was ready for them. Each captain took a seat and immediately started the meeting.

In the meanwhile, the lieutenants went into a smaller room. Orihime and Nemu went back to work on the two bodies while the lieutenants started the meeting.

All eyes were on Matsumoto. Since she's Hitsugaya's partner in the Gotei 13 (they were Team 10), she was acting as a sort of lead investigator when he wasn't there.

"According to the King, the two were assassinated," said Matsumoto.

"Yes, it seems so. However, I don't believe that anyone could break into the prisons without being seen first," said Hisagi Shuuhei (Squad 9).

"I wonder why someone would go this far," asked Yachiru (Squad 11). She was younger than all the other officers and usually acted childishly. However, her reasoning was very helpfulwhen she offered a different point of view from the adults.

"There are always classical reasons: vengeance, jealousy or hatred," Kira Izuru (Squad 3) offered.

"Are you sure that they aren't dead naturally?" Ise Nanao (Squad 8) asked.

"Did you see the corpses?" Kirisawa Kimiko (Squad 2) said. "They are too young to die naturally. The death circumstances are still unclear, but I can assure you that there is a meaning behind their death."

Abarai Renji (Squad 6) suggested, "Could it be that they ended their lives themselves? None of them wanted to cooperate and were literally waiting for death to come and take them away so that they could escape our torturing."

"We can't take any chances," said Hisagi. "Anything is possible. Renji might be right, but it could also be something else. Maybe they died because someone feared that the two might let something slip."

"I can check," Nanao offered. She was Lieutenant of the Eighth Squad, the data squad.

"Nanao-san, how much information do you think you can get?"

"I'll check for any suspicious moves. However, the Night Rukongai Society have great covers and it's getting harder and harder to get information."

"We'll leave that to you then, Nanao-san," said Matsumoto.

"Yes," said Nanao as she pushed up her glasses. "It's a great opportunity to put my sources to the test."

Matsumoto smiled at her before returning to the meeting, "Like Hisagi said before, we can't take any chances. If it was a murder and we don't work on it properly, we will be severely punished."

"You know," added Yachiru, "Ichiro and Katashi held top secret information. I heard that the Gotei 13 caught them for questioning. I wonder if their comrades didn't kill them to shut them up or something around those lines."

"They've been silenced..."

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- Snow Wing -

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The lieutenants covered the major points of the investigation in the meeting room. The captains, who had finished their small discussion after a few short minutes, went to examine the corpses.

Unohana Retsu (Squad 4), the expert in medicine, scanned the two prisoners' bodies quickly and wrote down the major points she noticed.

"Here, as you can see," Unohana said as she pointed at Ichiro's neck. "There is a clean cut. It was nicely made; just enough to slice open the artery and cause important losses of blood. The skin wasn't open enough for abundant bleeding. That's why you can see this huge purple mark, which is caused by major internal bleeding. I don't even think that we would have noticed his death if someone didn't go check on him because it was the day of his release."

Shunsui Kyoraku (Squad 8), the peacemaker, sighed. "That doesn't sound nice. It practically means that we are dealing with extremely dangerous opponents. It can be such a hassle to deal with someone who actually has some skills."

Unohana moved on to the next body. "As for Katashi, there is a small fissure at the top of his head. It's very hard to see that there is actually blood there because of his dark colored hair."

"How did you notice?" Ukitake Juushirou (Squad 13) asked.

"I saw flies in his hair. Small insects like to be in proximity of food. Since blood is a very good nutriment, it was only natural that they all gathered there and fed on it. What's interesting is that you can clearly see the fact that the two were killed by different weapons. This crack is way too small to be made by a sword or any type of blade. I would say something thin and sharp, like a needle."

"Are you positive that this is a murder?" Shunsui observed. "Anyone can cut themselves or hit their heads."

"True, but this cut is way too professional for sloppy fighters like them. Just by looking at the weapons they carried around, I can see that they clearly lack of grace."

"I agree," said Soi Fon (Squad 2). She was weighting a small dagger laid beside Ichiro. "They don't even know how to take care of their weapons. They mustn't be very skilled."

"No wonder they got caught. With that kind of skill, it can't be very hard to catch them," added Aizen Sousuke (Squad 5).

"What's that supposed to mean? I took a good two weeks to find them. Their knowledge of Rukongai is impressive and their camouflage was almost perfect," Zaraki Kenpachi (Squad 11) said, ready to give him a piece of his mind.

Aizen never did any capturing; he only worked with data and profiles. He wasn't the one who spent a few days out there, sitting in the cold, waiting for them to take the bait.

"I heard that they were captured for questioning. In the Rukongai, the only people who have information are the ones who are ranked quite highly in their organizations. "

"You got that one right, Hitsugaya. That was one of the reasons we caught them for."

That got Hitsugaya's attention. "What's the other reason?"

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- Snow Wing -

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**Squad 10 (Captain's office), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****March 30th, Afternoon**

"Captain, let's go for a break."

"No."

"But I'm tired and it's getting harder and harder to concentrate! I've been reading mountains of data every day for the past week and I'm not getting anywhere near the answer."

"You're always tired, so deal with it for once," responded the Captain. "Remember, this case has been requested by the King himself."

"I know, but His Majesty is requesting for impossibility. This case is exasperatedly hard to solve. I want a break! Even a small one is fine."

When Matsumoto went for a 'break', she usually meant a five hour party with Sake and her friends. That wasn't something Hitsugaya wanted her to do when he had been working twice as hard as usual so that this case could be solved. However, he was also tired and a little break couldn't hurt that much.

"I guess a small break is fine."

Matsumoto stayed silent for a second, as if she didn't understand what her Captain said. After a few seconds, the words sunk in. She slowly turned around, a bright smile on her face.

"You're agreeing? Yay, that's great!" Matsumoto exclaimed as she jumped up and down.

In two seconds, she was ready to go and she knew just the right place. She could relax there and have some real fun. She could drink her favorite drink and she could dance, sing, party and have all the fun in the world. It was the best place on the entire Kingdom.

"Matsumoto," the Captain warned.

"Yes?"

"We aren't going to the bar."

Matsumoto stopped in the middle of a jump and landed heavily on the floor, the cheering stopping abruptly. That was exactly where she had wanted to go! How could he refuse that one tiny little request when he was always ordering her around? There goes all the happiness she had. "But...!"

"No means no," said Hitsugaya, not wanting to argue with Matsumoto.

She pouted a bit, but finally gave in, "Fine."

"Take off your lieutenant insignia; we don't want people to recognize us," said Hitsugaya as he took off his white haori.

"Yes, yes, Captain."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

Unknown to the two Royal Officers, a dark shadow had been following them.

"Mission accomplished..."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Three** is coming up next!

Next time on **Toxic **: Everyone has competition. The same goes for me, Hinamori Momo.

That girl, Suzuki Reiko, isn't someone you want to be friends with. Well, that is unless you are aiming to be a sucessful prostitute. I can't say that I like her a lot, especially not after discovering the fact that she's after **my** customer, the _lovely_ white haired gentleman. Tche, as if I'll give him to anyone else.

That boy's **mine**.

**The Gotei 13 continues investigating. However, there seems to be conflict between the members. What is Hitsugaya hiding?**

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please send me your feedback by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	4. Hinamori Momo versus Suzuki Reiko

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

- Hinamori Momo versus Suzuki Reiko -

* * *

**District 7, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****March 30th, Evening**

The Rukongai had 99 districts. It was the place where workers, artists, musicians, dancers, scholars and many more lived in harmony. There were also thieves, killers, robbers, assassins, murderers and other type of malicious people lurking around the corner waiting for someone to take the bait. The Rukongai was ruled by the King during daylight and overtaken by mercenaries at nighttime.

Serial killers, master thieves, mafia lords, head of black markets or leader of a secret organization, all were as powerful as one of the Kingdom's noble at night. Each had their own territory to rule over and conflict was rare between the parties. The hierarchy was as organized as the Kingdom's, if not better.

_They were the ones making the rules at night; they were the ones ruling the Kingdom at night._

The defense was impeccable; all the supervising was done by professional trackers and trained fighters. At night, no one messed around without getting spotted and beaten up badly, if not killed.

_Their security blends with society; they are undetectable and invisible to the human eye._

Those people ruled and had the final word.

**They were called Shinigamis.**

It was in that type of society that people, like Hinamori Momo, lived. After many years, they eventually got used to the diurnal rules imposed by the King and the nocturnal rules made by the rebels.

Going out at night was dangerous, especially for young girls, but it didn't keep Hinamori from doing extra shifts. She needed the money. For that unique reason, she was standing at the entrance of Urahara Tea House, welcoming customers with her charming smile many hours after her shift ended.

It was early in the evening and the tea house was nearly empty. It was too late for an afternoon tea and too early for diner. Hinamori had been standing there for the last thirty minutes, staring at the empty entrance. She had to make sure that whenever a customer would enter, she was ready to lead him to a table, offer him a menu and dazzle him with her smile. It sounded ridiculously easy, but it was impossibly hard.

_'Curse this...'_ thought Hinamori. If she didn't need the money that desperately, she wouldn't be standing there, wasting the majority of her evening. She didn't really need the money that urgently, but having some savings couldn't hurt.

The street was empty; there were no customers. Hinamori signed, '_I really hate this job._'

Suddenly, the door opened, pulling her out of her reverie.

"Welcome to Urahara Tea House," said Hinamori mechanically.

She bowed like a programmed robot and took two menus off from the shelves. She started walking towards an empty table without asking where they wanted to sit, hoping that they weren't too picky. She didn't want to waste her time with the two customers. Why was that? Simple: they were both Royal Officers. How did she know? Easy: all Royal Officers wore the trademark black kimono.

"I'll be back when you're ready to order." Hinamori said without any enthusiasm. "Please take your time."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

"Captain, isn't she the girl who served us last time we came here?" Matsumoto kept her voice low since she didn't want people to eavesdrop on her conversation.

"Yeah," responded Hitsugaya, not really listening.

"It seems that she has already forgotten about us, but we didn't forget about her. At least _I_ didn't forget about her. Did you, Captain?"

"No, it's hard to forget," said Hitsugaya, still looking at Hinamori's retreating back.

_'Oh, my god, my Captain is looking at a girl! This must be the scoop of the year,'_ Matsumoto thought as she mentally clapped and threw a lot of confetti in her mind. "Have you been thinking about her?" Matsumoto asked teasingly, trying to hint for something.

"Yes, I was thinking about her," replied Hitsugaya, not noticing Matsumoto's huge smile.

_'I knew it, he's in love! I'll make him confess,' _thought Matsumoto. '_Let's see if his thoughts are perverted or not.'_

"What were you thinking about, Captain?"

"I was wondering..." said the Captain, not noticing Matsumoto's triumphant smile.

"What have you been wondering about?" asked Matsumoto, dying to know.

"It's kind of embarrassing," said Hitsugaya.

"Oh, don't worry, Captain. You can tell me anything and I won't tell anyone else," said Matsumoto.

"I bet you're going to gossip around and tell Hisagi, the one who's directing the newspaper," replied Hitsugaya, looking at his Lieutenant with an I-don't-believe-that-you-will-shut-up look.

"My lips are sealed," said Matsumoto, crossing her fingers behind her back. She really wanted to know and the suspense was killing her.

"Fine... I was wondering about..."

_'Oh, my god, Captain, just spill it!'_

"...about how she could make such good tea," answered Hitsugaya in all his seriousness.

Matsumoto nearly fell off her chair. '_What the hell?' _

"What...?" said Matsumoto.

"The palace chef can't even compare his skills with the girl's. Her tea tastes much betterthan the one from the palace. Maybe it's the tea leaves that make all the difference."

She did not believe, _could_ not believe that Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of Squad Ten and member of the Gotei 13, was thinking about _tea_ when he could think about _girls_.

_'I guess my hopes were a little too high.'_

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

Hinamori had been observing her customers. She knew who they were; she remembered them. They were the so-called 'High Ranked and Important Royal Army Officers'. It wasn't surprising that once she looked at their graceful behavior, she remembered instantly. There weren't many officers who acted that way. She went back into the kitchen and took her time to prepare the orders.

Most girls were staring; some were even glaring. They were whispering quietly to each other while Hinamori pretended that she couldn't hear. However, many questions were running inside of her head. What were they looking at? Did she have something on her face? What did she do? Did she say something bad?'

A blond girl came out of the crowd and stood in front of her. She showed Hinamori that she was dominating by lifting her head high in a very snobbish way, but Hinamori wasn't even paying attention. She was offended by Hinamori's uncaring attitude and said with her noble-ladylike voice, "What were you doing with that customer?"

"I was doing my job," responded Hinamori calmly.

"Do not lie to me, Hinamori. I saw it. We all saw him stare at you when you had your back turned. Just now, you were also looking back. What did you tell him? Did you flirt?"

"I wasn't flirting," responded Hinamori. "I was simply asking for my customer's order," Hinamori said in a very calm voice with hints of politeness. She was always polite, even with people who didn't deserve it; she was raised that way. "However, I've noticed a certain someone who would flirt to sell more tea or to gain larger tips."

She turned around innocently, "I hope you noticed that we aren't serving food in a whorehouse, Suzuki Reiko-san."

"Hinamori," she said through gritted teeth. Hinamori simply smiled back innocently. Of course, she was insulted that Hinamori compared her to a slut, but she had important things to say and didn't want to get distracted by any other matter.

"The gentleman you're serving is hot, sexy and perfect in every aspect. Don't you think so?" She walked over to Hinamori who was clenching her fists, trying to resist the urge to punch her in the face so that she can make tea in peace. "I'm looking for better a man than my current fiancé and I don't have much time. You won't interfere, right?" she asked as she played with her hair.

"I have work, so will you please excuse me." Hinamori said as she picked up the tray with the tea and cookies Matsumoto ordered earlier.

"Not so fast, little girl. You haven't agreed that the white haired gentleman is _mine_. I want him and he might also be looking for _fun_. The only _thing_, I mean _person_, between us is you. So, why don't you let me handle this order of his? You know that we are totally meant for each other."

_'You're as meant for each other as a mouse is meant for a cat. However, I do wonder which one will end up dead,'_ Hinamori thought.

Hinamori didn't let that faze her. "Suzuki, are you blind? He's not alone. There is a young lady with him. Compared to her, you have absolutely no chance of getting him to go with you. Anyway, even if she wasn't around, I don't think that he would have agreed," Hinamori said as she put the tray down to glare at Reiko fully. She had work to do and she didn't want to get a bad reputation because some insane girl wanted to form a fan club.

"What makes you think that he's not lusting after my body?"

True, Reiko was beautiful and had the body of a goddess, but Hinamori knew that her customer was different. He wasn't the type of officer who would sleep with women on a regular basis and he obviously had not much interest in girls. Proof: he hadn't even looked at her _once_.

"What makes me think that he's not lusting after your body?" she repeated after Reiko in a disbelieving voice. "I _know_ that he isn't that type of customer. You might want to sell yourself to get a larger tip, but I don't do that kind of thing. I will not let you insult my customers; placing him in that category is a serious offense," Hinamori said, challenging Reiko to say more.

"We'll see if he's after me or not. Do you want to bet?"

"No thanks," Hinamori said as a smile slowly crept on her face.

"Why's that? Are you scared of loosing?"

Hinamori was already halfway out of the kitchen before she turned her head around and stared into Reiko's eyes. "No; it's just that I know that I already won."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Squad 10 (Meeting Room), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****March 30th, Evening**

With an authoritarian voice, Hitsugaya started the weekly Captains' Meeting with one word, "Report."

One by one, in order of divisions, the captains reported the things they judged necessary and important for the case.

Soi Fon stood up after Yamamoto finished. She scanned the room and looked at the captains before speaking in a clear and loud voice so that all could hear her. "I've recently discovered the rise of a new organization. I haven't gotten its name yet, but I've heard that this organization is acting as a leader for the mercenaries' league or if you prefer, they are acting as the Night Rukongai Society's King."

That was some big revelation. They already knew some of the secret illegal organizations, but they've never heard of one that all the others feared and respected enough to let it be their one and only leader. It was something worth investigating.

"Is there anything else?" Hitsugaya asked.

"I did some investigation on the crime scene and found something absolutely amazing. Kimiko," she said as she reached out, "the lock, please."

Kimiko, one of the lieutenants who had just risen to her rank, stepped out from the shadows and placed a large metal lock in Soi Fon's awaiting hands. The Spy Captain stood up and carefully placed it in the middle of the table.

"Captains, please take a look."

A moment of silence occurred as the captains used their sharp vision to spot the unusual aspect of the lock while the lieutenants all leaned forward to get a look.

"Did it... melt?"

"Great observation, Captain Hitsugaya," said Soi Fon as she took back the lock and hand it over to the medical section so that they could investigate on the substance along with the Twelfth Squad.

"Apparently, a strong substance, possibly acid, destroyed the mechanism of the lock, which allowed his or her entrance into the Royal Prisons. However, I highly doubt that a male would think of using such methods. If the killer is a male, than there must be a female involved somehow."

"Captain Soi Fon, that is totally sexist," protested Renji. "What makes you think that guys won't use poison?"

"Guys always think of brute force before anything else. However, the ladies are more discreet. With so many years of experience, you can't say that I don't know how assassins think."

Gin had listened to the conversation between Lieutenant Renji and Captain Soi Fon. Renji was only a Lieutenant and speaking to a Captain with such tone was unforgivable. However, all Gotei 13 members were equals. In that case, lieutenants were considered as the captain's partners, as their equal.

"Captains," said Gin with his same sadistic grin, "have any of you ever heard of the word Shinigami?"

A silence occurred in the room. Shinigami meant Death God, everybody knew that. However, few of them knew little more.

After a while, Orihime shyly raised her hand. "I have."

"Oh, young lady, what have you heard?"

Orihime stepped forward and went to stand beside her partner, Unohana Retsu. "I have heard of many horrible things about them."

She took a deep breath. Everyone in the room was waiting for her to continue. "They say that Shinigamis have no pity. They say that Shinigamis will wipe out all who dare to oppose them and will punish without mercy anyone who makes mistakes. They say that Shinigamis are leaders of the Night Rukongai Society."

She stopped, searching for her words. "They say that all members of Shinigami are as scary as Death Gods themselves."

"Very accurate, Healing Lady," said Gin. "I wonder why you know so much when all the other captains haven't even heard a word about them."

He had looked at her with his eyes open. That was one of the scariest things in the world. "Well?"

"I...I...simply heard rumors when I went in town and..."

"Is that true?"

"I..."

Orihime was obviously scared to death by Gin's threatening look. She felt as if the walls were closing in on her and that she had absolutely no escape route. The other Gotei 13 members were perplexed, but all seemed to want to hear the reason behind her knowledge. She simply knew! That wasn't supposed to be a crime. However, when she stared back into Gin's eyes, all seemed like a trap and everyone seemed ready to betray her trust.

She backed away a step, but Gin's aura simply closed in on her. His large shadow covered her completely. She was trapped with no one there to save her like last time.

The tension in the silent room was rising.

SCREECH

A chair was loudly pushed back, breaking the tension in the room. Hitsugaya had stood up. His quite bangs covered his eyes and the aura around him had changed completely.

He glared at Gin. "That's enough."

Gin turned back to look at him. There was a slight frowned before his grin appeared again. He offered his apologies for interrupting the meeting.

As the meeting ended, Gin told his partner Kira to go first before approaching Hitsugaya.

"You know something, don't you?"

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Four** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : Things are going to spice up! It's the introduction of the villains.

The Black Rose of Shinigami: cruel assassin. Wait. Cruel? Well, compared to other assassins, she's as soft as a lamb. However, when she's serious, then those assassins would look like the lamb. Beware of her if you want to live in the Rukongai.

Well, it is Fate that Hitsugaya and her will meet? The small Captain had some business in the Rukongai. Maybe it will be their destiny to cross each other's path.

**The Death Goddess will strike again...**

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	5. The Black Rose of Shinigami

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

- The Black Rose of Shinigami -

* * *

**Night Rukongai Society, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 4th, Evening**

They were in a dark room and the place gave the chills.

It was a room where a tiny candle flame just died away in the darkness. It was a place full of fear and full of darkness. It was a place intruders could never succeed in penetrating. It was the safest place with the most competent guards, but also the most dangerous place for the outsiders. It was a secret place, the headquarters of _the_ organization. It was where _they_ reunited. It was where _they_ would challenge each other, aiming to be the strongest.

In _that_ room, one of the deadliest assassins to have ever existed was waiting for the master's orders.

"Black Rose," said a deep masculine voice.

The young girl did not move. She did not shiver in fear nor did she try to back away from him. She waited for the orders quietly; the sooner she received her next mission, the sooner she'll be able to get out of that place.

What her master ordered, she executed.

The man speaking to her was sitting on a throne. A black curtain separated the two of them, making her unable to see her master's face or body.

"This is your next victim," the voice continued.

A scroll was brought out by a small girl with short raven hair. She was the master's personal servant and was highly respected by the other members of the organization. Her long white kimono trailed after her as she gracefully walked towards the assassin.

The scroll was sealed with the organization's Crest, which was a cross with the letter 'S' curled up around it. The 'S' was actually snake. Its head and tail could be seen if one looked at it closely. The sealed scroll contained the instructions of the master and confidential information about the victim.

The assassin took the scroll with equal grace and with a quick flick of the wrist, hid it in her robes. She had accepted the mission without arguing. What a perfect assassin. She was so obedient.

The master contemplated the teenager before him.

The girl was on one knee and her head was bent so that her master was unable to read her. She was a mysterious one, one that he was unable to manipulate unlike the rest. Even in the headquarters, she refused to take off her cloak and stayed secret, but by courtesy, she took off the hood.

"Make it quick," said the master before dismissing her.

Nearly all rebels in the Rukongai knew her code name. Very few saw her face and fewer knew her real name. She had many skills and she wasn't afraid of using them. She had never failed a mission; it could be from running an errand to one of those assassination missions she got regularly. She had succeeded all of them. She was dangerous.

Despite all the allies she had in the Rukongai, she also had enemies who wouldn't hesitate to kill her if they had the chance. Many would be more than glad to get rid of her once and for all.

Without a word, she exited the room, her hood hiding her real identity. Even at the Headquarters, she couldn't trust everyone. Once outside, a large blade stopped her. Its owner was cloaked in a ripped piece of black cloth, grinning at her sadistically.

"Where do you think you're going, _partner_?"

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Squad 10 (Meeting Room), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 5th, Morning**

The other members have already left the meeting room as they submitted the reports. Matsumoto, for once, was carefully reading through the information.

"Captain, this case is really complicated. It involves an opponent we have never even faced before. We have to do a complete research about this Shinigami thing and it's giving me a headache."

Hitsugaya didn't reply. He was used to her complains and learned not to answer or else, it'll never end.

"Since you're about to take a break again, why don't you start the paperwork that was due last week," the Captain said as he sipped his tea.

_'It's nowhere near as good as what that girl can make,'_ thought Hitsugaya.

"Captain, you know that I can't do paperwork without screwing up," said Matsumoto. "I want to catch the culprit so that we can do something else."

"Why don't you start practicing paperwork if you're so bad at it?" Hitsugaya suggested.

Matsumoto hated paperwork, but that didn't mean she felt the same when she had to track one of two criminals. She loved the suspense and was always overly excited about it.

"But..."

"If you have time to kill, I don't see why you can't do that," Hitsugaya continued.

"_Anyway_, Captain, what about the target?" Matsumoto suddenly said to change subject.

"What target?"

"I remember that we still have a few people left on the list. If this murder didn't occur and interfered with our plans, we would have finished by now," said Matsumoto.

"Oh, _those_ people..." said Hitsugaya, finally understanding what she meant.

Each squad had to capture a certain number of wanted criminals per year. They were given a list and the squad had to capture all of them within the year.

Matsumoto had captured most of them, but there were always a few tough guys that gave her some trouble. She led the capturing squads while Hitsugaya gave out the orders. He was the strategist while Matsumoto acted as the executer. Together, they were an amazing team.

Of course, there were some squads that had been dispensed from this work. Matsumoto felt sorry for them because she greatly enjoyed criminal captures, but it wasn't the whole army that shared her opinion.

For example, the Second Squad was more than glad that they didn't need to do that. They were spies, so they always had something to do. Most of the time, they would just tour the city to accumulate data for the Kingdom. There was occasionally real spy work, like finding out about the activities of a certain organization or stealing confidential information from a foreign kingdom.

As for the Fourth Squad, they were also dispensed from the work because they had to heal the injured and they were busy all day long.

Hitsugaya thought about it for a few seconds. "Well, we still have _that_ guy, Yasuhiro. We lost his track last time, but this time, he won't get away this easily. I heard that Captain Soi Fon had found his trace."

Matsumoto grinned. She had waited for a long time because Yasuhiro was a tricky guy. They absolutely needed the element of surprise and ambush him. Nothing else would work because he was too fast for most people unless Matsumoto went down to capture him herself.

However, wouldn't that put the Royal Army to shame? People would surely wonder how come they needed one of the highest officers to capture a simple mercenary in the streets.

"Where is he?" the Lieutenant asked.

"He has been spotted in district seven lately," said Hitsugaya. "We are going to ambush him tonight."

* * *

_- Snow Wing -_

* * *

**Night Rukongai Society, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 5th, Evening**

In a dark room, a beautiful young girl was held prisoner. With her hands tied behind her back, she was sitting on the cold floor, glaring at her assailant and his men. She was extremely angry.

"Why did you do this?" she spat at the man in front of her.

"Now, now, I wasn't about to let you leave this place without me, my dear _partner_," he said as he held on to the scroll he found in her robes.

He was extremely proud of himself. To capture her wasn't something that everyone could do. In fact, it was near impossible to really capture her unless she was badly ambushed by the best fighters of the whole Kingdom or if she didn't really want to resist. Her defense was impeccable and she was gifted when it came to escapes.

"Untie me now," she ordered.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but Shark-sama told us to keep you prisoner until he's done."

She slowly turned around to glare at Shark. He grinned back at her. Oh? He was playing with her? Fine, then she wouldn't hold back either. She gave her two 'guards' a cold smile.

"And how would you do that?"

The two men under Shark's orders certainly weren't the brightest ones around, but they nonetheless sensed the immediate change of atmosphere around them. The aura around their 'prisoner' had turned from neutral to icy cold.

Their instincts were excellent. Black Rose was really _mad_.

"Let me tell you one thing," she said calmly. "If I had wanted to escape, none of you would have been able to stop me. Not even my partner _Shark_ is strong enough to stop me when I'm serious."

The two men were somewhat afraid by her deadly aura.

"I'm feeling generous today, so I'll let the two of you live. However, please do remember that none of my assailants have ever lived to tell the tale. You guys will be alive, but you won't be living to tell this tale."

With a quick flick of the wrist, a small blade appeared in her left hand. Since she was facing them, none of her guards had seen the weapon.

She turned towards Shark coldly. "Your little jokes have gone too far. Next time, I won't even let you _try_. We are partners, so please act like my partner for once. Why can't you understand the fact that I also want individual missions?"

Shark didn't seem impressed by her threats. "The Black Rose of Shinigami isn't supposed to do tasks reserved for lower ranked people. I don't understand. Why are you so persistent? Why do you have to please our Master to this extent?"

The Black Rose of Shinigami didn't reply to his question. Instead, she turned back to the two guards who clearly didn't know much about her.

"Let me show you what a real assassin of Shinigami is capable of."

The two men had only heard rumors of the Black Rose of Shinigami, but have never seen her. It was the first time and they both already swore silently to never anger her again. There wouldn't be a 'next time'.

The blade cut through the ropes as easily as if it was cutting butter. With elegance, she stood up and put back the blade into her sleeves.

"Imp-impossible..."

The Black Rose replied with a cruel smirk. "Everything is possible for me. Now, say goodbye, foolish ones."

Before they could understand, she sprayed them with a deep violet substance. From the outside, it looked like perfume, but only the Black Rose of Shinigami knew what was really inside. The two men fell on the ground lifelessly.

"Oh, don't tell me you killed them! I really like those two..."

The Black Rose gave him a grave look. "They aren't dead. Didn't you hear me tell them that they'll live? They won't be able to remember anything that had just happened. I just hope that they hadn't made any promises to their girlfriends in the past twelve hours."

Great, now the Black Rose was having humoristic comments. Shark wasn't so sure that those were great symptoms. The Black Rose of Shinigami took the scroll from Shark's hand. He had already opened it and read through the information, so he didn't resist much. She was clearly not pleased, but did nothing more than a small glare.

Shark followed her out after giving his two subordinates one last look. They would have been pale with fear if they heard Black Rose's last words before she disappeared into the dark night.

"The Death Goddess will strike again."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Five** is coming up next!

Next time on **Toxic **: If you're not fast enough, he won't be waiting for you to come.

What? How dare she steal away **my** target! Yasuhiro is supposed to be captured by me, Matsumoto Rangiku, but that stupid girl just had to interfere! I can't believe it. I just got my target stolen away. Well, I've got to admit that she's got style when she fights, but that's not a reason. Wait, Captain, did your heart just skip a beat?

**The Death Goddess will be back...**

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please send me your feedback by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	6. The Dance of a Goddess

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

- The Dance of a Goddess -

* * *

**District 7, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 5th, Night**

In the dark streets of the Rukongai, a strong wind was blowing. A small squad was waiting to capture the target. All were clad in black with many threatening weapons hanging from their belt.

Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of the Tenth Squad of the Royal Army and elite member of the Gotei 13, was present. It was extremely rare for him to participate in such captures. However, he needed some distractions to help him evacuate the stress. A small fight wouldn't hurt; it would surely help him deal with the huge amount of pressure he was getting everyday. When was the last time he actually fought? Was it a month ago in the friendly tournament at the palace? Or was it that time when Matsumoto had insisted on taking down some rebels she found in the Rukongai? It had been so long since he'd participated in anything that required his fighting skills and it was the perfect occasion to get back the thrill.

Matsumoto Rangiku, Lieutenant of the Tenth Squad of the Royal Army, elite member of the Gotei 13 and partner of Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou, was seconding her Captain. She had set up a few traps and was waiting patiently for Yasuhiro to show up and fall into them. The traps must work. It was Hitsugaya who had thought of them in the first place and he was one of the best strategists in the whole Kingdom.

To make sure that some stupid soldier hadn't made a stupid mistake somewhere, the Lieutenant had double checked all the traps personally. The capture was something she had been waiting for ever since she received the Target List and she wasn't about to let some incompetent person mess up the perfect plan.

Other than Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, they were four other people. Hitsugaya would be leading two of them while Matsumoto would be responsible for the others. The two teams of three were waiting to ambush the infamous Yasuhiro. They weren't far from each other, but with the strong wind, any form of communication would be difficult. However, they were very confident because the two strongest fighters of the whole squad were with them.

Yasuhiro was a well known criminal who had given them some problems in the past. However, that wasn't going to last any longer. He _will_ perish that night.

The wind picked up. Hitsugaya's white haori flapped behind him in the wind while his short white hair became even messier than its usual messy spikes. Matsumoto's long strawberry blond hair was in the wind and her pink scarf trailed behind her.

Then, he appeared.

At first, no one noticed anything. The wind had camouflaged his light footstepsand the darkness of the night made his silhouette hard to see. He was skilled at hiding his presence and nearly escaped right under the nose of the soldiers of Tenth Squad. However, he wouldn't have been able to run very far since Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were both waiting for him at the end of the street.

The plan was perfect, but there was interference from a third party. Yasuhiro would have fled without making a sound and without stimulating any traps, but someone was faster than him. Before he fell into any of the traps Matsumoto had placed, he was stopped.

The two teams waiting to ambush him heard a faint clashing sound.

Yasuhiro has been discovered.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

Yasuhiro slipped off from the roof and landed safely on the stone pavement.

He clutched his left shoulder. Blood was dripping from a deep gash, soaking his clothes. A hooded figure landed in front of him as silent as a feline. A heavy cloak was draped around its shoulders and a hood hid its eyes, making it impossible for Yasuhiro to identity it.

However, the wind was in his favor that night and blew open the cloak. Judging by the clothing, he assumed that it was a girl. She was wearing a short kimono stopping a little above her knees. A split on her right side and large white sleeves reaching her elbows allowed her to do all sorts of acrobatics. Ash grey feathers adorned the bottom of the white kimono while the top was blank with no print. Instead of the traditional obi, she had a long grey colored silky ribbon around her petite waist. As the cloak flapped behind her in the wind, Yasuhiro got a good look at the six knives clipped to her small hip (three on each side.)

Fresh red blood dripped from a long and thin katana in her hands.

At the sight of a snake curled around a cross, the Crest of Shinigami, stitched on her left chest and both sleeves, Yasuhiro backed away from her cautiously. He might not have been able to identify her, but he knew about the organization she was part of. He knew that she had to be extremely powerful and it went without saying that she was skilled enough to take him down.

"Give it to me," demanded a young girl's voice.

Yasuhiro didn't answer. Instead, he backed away a few more steps from her and bent into a defensive position, his hand immediately reaching for his dagger. He made sure that he was a safe distance from her.

"Give me the parchment you are holding. Now," demanded the young girl as she lifted her head to face him.

Yasuhiro was unable to meet her eyes without wincing as fear overtook his senses. Her voice was icy cold, giving him the chills. In her pitiless eyes, he could see that human lives mattered very little to her. Yasuhiro had dealt with many mercenaries before, but none of them had ever given him such a horrible feeling.

For the first time, he was frozen in fear.

For the first time, he felt _small_.

It was very generous for the girl to show her face. However, there was a second meaning to it: either she was too stupid to hide her identity, either she was confident enough to know that he wouldn't live to tell the tale. Judging by her level of skill, he guessed that it was the later. Such confidence, she had.

No one, as good and as powerful as they might be, would show their faces unnecessarily. By revealing their identity, it would simply allow other people to find them a lot easier, which was totally stupid. Why should anyone give away the advantage they have over the others? But for those who were about to take away a life, they would let that unfortunate person see the face of the one responsible for their death. It wasn't foolishness anymore; it was a noble act.

The girl had shown her face to Yasuhiro, which meant that she was about to kill him.

Some would be proud to have their faces on wanted posters, but the finest of all killers wouldn't. Being known to others simply meant that he or she had been discovered during a mission. But Yasuhiro was part of the group I-don't-care-if-I'm-discovered-by-the-police-I-do-whatever-I-want and did as he pleased in the Rukongai. He was skilled and was very influential among the mercenaries. He could become one of the finest assassins if his arrogance didn't always get the best of him.

"Why do you need the parchment?" he asked, looking at his opponent carefully.

She hadn't reached her twenties yet, which was surprisingly young for one as skilled as she was. She was beautiful with fair skin and long black hair.

"I don't need to give you any reasons."

"I don't need to give you anything either."

Yasuhiro was simply dragging on and the girl decided that they had played long enough. "Are you ready to assume your consequences for refusing to obey me?"

He didn't give her an answer and tightened his grip around his dagger.

That was quite clear. By not answering, Yasuhiro had signed his death wish. His indifference had meant 'I don't care what you say' to the assassin.

"Well then, maybe I shall simply finish you off," she said as she switched the grip on her katana. "After all, dead bodies can't protest much."

It was obvious that the girl didn't consider him as a threat and he felt extremely insulted.

Yasuhiro evaluated the distance between them. He got his dagger ready and picked up his speed. He was faster than an average runner, but who in the Night Rukongai Society wasn't? He didn't have an advantage on the assassin at all if he had wanted to impress her with his speed. She had seen runners twice as fast as him. After all, she was part of the feared Shinigami Organization.

Yasuhiro put up his dagger in a perfect angle and charged at her. With a graceful leap, she landed on the roof of one of the civilian houses. She positioned her feet so that she wouldn't slip. Yasuhiro followed her up and adjusted his speed so that he wouldn't roll off the roof either.

The assassin waited for him to come at her patiently. With a small flick of her wrist, she had switched from defense to offense. It didn't seem so to Yasuhiro, but she was more than ready to attack him rather than defend herself. As Yashiro clashed with her, he was surprised by her strength. Her shot didn't leave any openings and the grip she had on her katana was firm and surprisingly strong for such a small girl.

She had incredible swordsmanship.

The small clashing sound had alerted the two teams of the Tenth Squad. Hitsugaya, as fast as lightning, ran towards the fighting scene. He jumped on the roof and witnessed the fight between Yasuhiro and the female assassin. The hood was no longer on, making her long black hair sway in the wind in synchronization with her every move. Her elegance was beyond compare and her graceful moves made her look like a ballerina.

His heart skipped a beat as soon as he set eyes on her.

"What an incredible fighting style that is."

They were too far to be identified, but Hitsugaya was still impressed by the assassin's graceful moves. It was beautiful, just like the deadly dance of a cobra.

The girl landed on the rooftop once more after many agile jumps.

"You are not as strong of a fighter as the rumors say."

With a powerful leap, she ran her katana through him easily and with no fear. It was then that Yasuhiro had realized that all the hits she had exchanged with him were only meant to evaluate his skill. She had never taken him seriously from the beginning.

Now, everything was over.

Yasuhiro dramatically fell off the roof and landed on the pavement and lost consciousness. The girl hadn't killed him, not yet.

She walked over to Yasuhiro and opened his large kimono. She took out the parchment and put it in a secret pocket where she was sure that it would be safe. She whipped her long katana on Yasuhiro's shirt, cleaning it from the blood and put it back into its sheath fixed to her back.

She was about to walk away when Matsumoto's angry footsteps alerted her. The strawberry blond Lieutenant was furious to be unable to capture her target. She had run to the fighting scene and witnessed a beautiful battle. However, she had wanted to capture Yasuhiro for a long time and she didn't take it very well when she realized that he wasn't her target anymore.

Without even asking for her Captain's orders, she jumped down of her own accord, wanting to face the mysterious person who had also targeted Yasuhiro.

The assassin, who was bent over Yasuhiro, quickly put up her hood and let the cloak envelop her. To Matsumoto, she was only a dark silhouette. She didn't need the Royal Army to know of her identity and she definitely wouldn't want her face on the wanted posters. It was too early for that.

"Who are you?"

It was a common rule in the Night Rukongai Society to give one's name when asked. The girl might have been an assassin, but even she respected the rules. It was known that the mercenaries who did not respect their own rules were to suffer a punishment one hundred times more painful than the ones from King Kuchiki Byakuya.

She had to give her a response, but not necessarily her real name.

"The Death Goddess strikes again."

With that, she fled into the darkness of the night.

Matsumoto and Hitsugaya pursued her. The young girl was fast, but not as fast as Hitsugaya. The young Captain was so close to catching her, but the assassin was ready. She whipped around her body and threw a long black needle at him.

Hitsugaya, taken by surprise, barely dodged the poisonous needle aiming for his heart. He landed on the roof with the dangerous black needle at his feet, deeply stuck into the ground. At the end of the needle was meticulously made small rose dangling.

She had left him a _black_ rose.

Black Roses mean _death_.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Night Rukongai Society, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 5th, Night**

"I retrieved the parchment," the girl reported once she returned.

The same raven haired girl, personal servant to the Master, came out to take the parchment from her. She went back behind the dark curtains and hand it to her Master. He put the parchment aside, satisfied.

"Now, finish him off."

She found his reasoning extremely illogical. If he had wanted him dead, then she could have killed him when she retrieved the information. However, subordinates did not question their superiors' orders. With her hood back on, covering her beautiful face, she left.

"The Death Goddess will strike again."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Six** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : A living Legend always ends up as History.

Orihime is sick? I don't understand. She looked alright last time I saw her. Well, anyways, it seems that my Captain has some height issues and wants her to find something to **cure** him. Pff, as if he could get any taller than he already is. Anyway, it seems that Yasuhiro won't live long enough to tell the tale either.

That mysterious **Death Goddess** is just as sick as the rumors; she is pitiless just like a real Shinigami.

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	7. The Princess' Secret

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

- The Princess' Secret -

* * *

**Squad 10 (Captain's office), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 8th, Morning**

It was another one of those quiet and innocent sunny days. Most of the time, those days weren't as innocent as they seemed.

Hitsugaya Toushirou was working at his desk, signing paper after paper. His window was partially open, letting in the warm rays of sun. He paused and leaning back in his chair as he delicately put down his brush in the inkstone (In ancient times, they used paint brushes to write instead of pens. It's just a small reminder for those who forgot). It was another never ending stack of paperwork.

He let his gaze wander and his eyes landed on a small envelop. He slowly reached for it and took it in his large hands, the hands of a warrior. After turning the envelope a few times, he stared at it. Then, as if suddenly snapping out of a reverie, Hitsugaya called out, "Matsumoto."

Matsumoto opened the door separating her office from her Captain's and poked her head through. "You called me, Captain?"

He looked at his cheerful Lieutenant with an unusually serious expression. Matsumoto, even though a little drunk, could sense a certain degree of seriousness in the matter. The atmosphere was very thick, but the light smell of alcohol coming from the Lieutenant's office killed the tension as Hitsugaya suddenly slammed both of his hands on his desk. Oh, how he hated the smell of alcohol.

The sudden noise made Matsumoto jump slightly. She barely had time to catch the small package her Captain threw at her.

"Bring this to the fourth squad and give it personally to Lieutenant Inoue."

The white envelop was sealed with the Tenth Squad's insignia, a narcissus flower framed by the Gotei 13's Crest.

"Is it a love letter?" asked Matsumoto, faking surprise and disbelief.

"You must be kidding me," Hitsugaya said as he rubbed his temples, not enjoying Matsumoto's joke.

"Fine, fine, Captain, you have no sense of humor," Matsumoto said as she left.

She walked to the fourth squad and went to see Lieutenant Inoue Orihime. She knocked on her door softly so as to not disturb her, but there was no response. She tried a little louder, but the result was the same.

"Orihime-san, are you there?" asked Matsumoto as she opened the door to find out that the room was empty.

The Lieutenant decided to sit on the couch and to wait for Orihime.

Her table was full of medicinal plants and other sorts of suspicious concoctions. The room had an icky smell of medicine to it. It was so strong that Matsumoto felt like she was being poisoned. She couldn't complain about it since her office smelled like Sake, but she was sure that the scent of alcohol was way better than the medicinal smell of the room.

After a few moments, the door opened, revealing a very pale girl. It was Orihime, but Matsumoto could barely recognize her. The Orihime she knew was always cheerful and full of energy, but the girl in front of her could hardly stand up and she looked horrible.

"Ah, Orihime-san, you're back," said Matsumoto as she stood up from the couch.

Orihime was surprised by Matsumoto's voice. She dropped the basket she was holding and reached for her katana instinctively. When she recognized Matsumoto, she relaxed a bit. She picked up her basket and she closed the door behind her as she stepped into the office.

"Rangiku-san, what brings you here?"

"My Captain wants me to..."

Matsumoto was interrupted by Orihime's violent coughing. She poured a cup of water into a mug and added a few ingredients to it before she drank it. Her coughing calmed down and gradually stopped.

"Orihime-san, are you okay?" asked Matsumoto.

"Rangiku-san, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired."

Her voice was dry and hoarse, the complete opposite of her usual sweet and melodic voice. She sounded like an old granny and it was obvious that she was having a hard time just opening her mouth.

"My Captain asked me to give you this," said Matsumoto.

Orihime received the letter with shaky fingers and thanked her. With her sensible fingers, she could feel the content of the envelope and a sudden wave of relief washed over her when she found what she was looking for.

Matsumoto wasn't stupid. She knew that there was obviously more than just a simply message.

"Orihime-san, are you sure you're alright? Normally, you are able to recover pretty fast, but this time, your illness seems to be taking quite some time to heal," said Matsumoto.

"I guess it's just a really bad cold. With all the work I have, getting sick from time to time shouldn't be surprising. Rangiku-san, don't worry about me," said Orihime. "Oh, please tell Hitsugaya-san that it was very nice of him."

Matsumoto wasn't sure if Orihime could manage without any help at all. She looked like she was barely able to stand up. The girl didn't like to bother people even if she really needed that help. She never asked for any favors and she wasn't going to start just because she had a small and unimportant cold, or what seemed like a cold. She was independent and she would manageeverything just fineby herself.

Out of curiosity, Matsumoto couldn't help, but ask her, "Orihime-san, what is it that Captain Hitsugaya always sends you every month?"

Orihime hesitated a bit before answering. "It's nothing big."

"Oh, come on, spit it out!"

Orihime held back a smile before answering, "Actually, Hitsugaya-san is asking me for height pills."

Matsumoto couldn't believe her ears. He was asking for what?

"You know, height had always been a touchy subject for Hitsugaya-san. Since I'm part of the medical section, he asked me to try to research on pills or medicines that will make him grow a bit taller."

"I still don't understand what is in that envelope."

Orihime held up the envelope as she gulped down another cup of water. "These are the results of my researches so far. I use him as test subject and he sends me back the results every month. Does that satisfy your curiosity, Rangiku-san?"

Matsumoto was laughing mentally. Oh, how she would be able to tease her Captain next time! However, she did not forget the most important part. "Since you're sick, is there anything I can do for you? I can do the groceries or run some errands for you."

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I'm going in the Rukongai to deliver a few things, so I can get something for you."

"If it isn't a bother, then will you please buy these medicinal plants for me?" asked Orihime as she took out a list from her black kimono. "Of course, I don't want to bother you..."

"No, it's fine. Orihime-san, you should ask for help when you need it," said Matsumoto as she quickly took the list from Orihime before the shy medic could change her mind. She glanced at it, but did not understand a word of it. Well, she'll surely manage somehow.

"Thank you, Rangiku-san."

Matsumoto left with the usual cheerful smile on her face. However, she felt that a vital point just slipped away through her fingers. Her instincts were telling her that crucial information just slipped away right under her nose.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**District 12, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 8th, Afternoon**

The Rukongai was always a crowded place, especially on a day off.

Matsumoto was shopping in the Rukongai when she passed by the shop where Orihime usually bought her ingredients. It was a small building and its doors were wide open, giving any visitor a welcoming feeling. It also permitted any passenger to have a good look at the inside of the small shop.

The Lieutenant entered the small boutique and was surrounded by plants and herbs of all sorts. It was a well known medicine shop, where various types of rare herbs could be found. Matsumoto, who had never been to places like this, was confused by all the different kinds of leaves and the variety of plants.

"Miss, can I help you?" asked the shop keeper, a woman who was in her thirties. She had seen Matsumoto's frown and her confused expression and guessed that the young lady knew nothing about medicine.

Matsumoto turned around with a large smile of her face. She gave the list to the shop keeper and the basket that she had brought with her to put the ingredients in. "I would like these ingredients, please."

The shop keeper took the list and scanned through it quickly. She lifted her head up to meet the confused gaze of the Lieutenant. The shop keeper smiled warmly at the young lady. "They will be ready in a minute," she said as she left to grab the ingredients at the back of the shop.

Matsumoto wandered around and looked at the ingredients curiously. She had never been in a shop like this one and medicine wasn't exactly the subject in which she excelled. The shop keeper came back shortly with the basket. It was full of small packages which were neatly folded and placed with care.

"Thank you," said Matsumoto. "I would also like to get some medicine for a cold..." said the Lieutenant as she remembered about Orihime's pale face and the horrible state she was in.

"For what kind of..." The shop keeper wasn't able to finish her sentence before another voice coming from the back of the medicinal shop interrupted her by accident.

"Yoshiko-san...!"

Hinamori opened the door that separated the front and the back of the shop with a basket in her arms. There were red colored leaves in her basket; some were a darker red than the other ones. Seeing that Yoshiko was busy with a customer, Hinamori stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't mean to intrude.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

She turned around to leave after a small bow and hadn't seen Matsumoto yet, but the Lieutenant had immediately recognized her.

"Hinamori-san was it?" asked Matsumoto.

Hinamori turned around again to look at the person who had called her. It was the first time she had seen Matsumoto outside of Urahara Tea House, but she did not forget about her customers. The young girl's memory was better than anyone's.

"Yes... You must be Matsumoto-san."

After the second visit, they had decided to learn each other's names. They had a small chat together while leaving Hitsugaya completely out of the subject and were getting along pretty well.

"It's a surprise to see you here. Isn't Hitsugaya-san with you?"

_'Hitsugaya...? What does she want with Captain? Could it be that he had captured her heart...?'_

"Oh, I'm just shopping around."

"Then, what are you looking for?"

Hinamori didn't seem like a normal customer because she came from the back of the shop and that place was reserved for employees. Hinamori was a waitress at the Urahara Tea House, but it wouldn't be possible for her to work at both places because she had a full time job at the tea house. She saw Matsumoto's quizzical look and answered her silent questions.

"I'm here to pick up some ingredients for the tea house. I work at the Urahara Tea House, but whenever I come here to pick up something, I stay longer to help at Yoshiko-san's pharmacy. It's a great place to learn about the different herbs," Hinamori explained. "What about you?"

"I have a friend who is sick, so I'm getting her some medicine."

"Let me help you then. Yoshiko-san," Hinamori said as she turned toward the shop keeper. "Let me take over."

Hinamori gave her basket to the shop keeper and exchanged tasks with her. "So, what kind of illness does you friend have?"

"She has a cold, but I don't think that it's a normal type of cold. She coughs a lot and she's really pale. Her throat burns and sometimes, she even coughs out blood," said Matsumoto as she put a finger under her chin, trying to remember everything Orihime had told her.

Hinamori, who had been taking small notes down for further references, stopped her movements and turned around to listen carefully. She seemed extremely interested by this piece of news.

"She can hardly eat and she's so weak that she can barely stand up. I think that she also has hard time breathing," continued Matsumoto.

After ten minutes of listing, she finally came into a conclusion. "There was also something else, but I forgot. It's..."

"...blood coagulation..." finished Hinamori for her.

"Yeah... Wait, how you know that?"

"It's quite common that blood coagulation usually follows after some of the symptoms you've just listed. It must have been a lucky guess."

"Must be..." said Matsumoto.

"Matsumoto-san, I suggest that you don't buy anything at the moment. My instincts are telling me that your friend is going to get well pretty soon."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, since she's able to list her symptoms in such details, she must know a lot about the medical section. I wouldn't be surprised that she'll find the cure on her own."

"If you say so," said Matsumoto as she paid for the ingredients she had ordered earlier.

Hinamori looked at her retreating back.

"I doubt anyone knows about the cure. Anyone except _him_, that is."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Seireitei, capital of Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 10th, Midnight**

It was a freezing night.

She walked down the road, the same road that led to the Royal Prisons. That night, the moon was hidden by heavy clouds and the city sunk into darkness. It was too dark to be able to make out anything without a torch or a lantern, but she seemed to know the way without seeing.

There were occasional torches fixed on each side of the road. Every time she passed by one of them, her secret identity was exposed to anyone who might have been there.

The Death Goddess was ready to strike again.

The assassin approached the Royal Prisons, walking down the stone pavement covered with small pebbles. There were two guards at the entrance, but they weren't there to patrol like last time; they were there to guard. The prisons' doors were wide open, but the guards had crossed their spears, blocking the way to anyone suspicious. It seemed that the security had gotten much tighter since the previous time. It didn't matter to her.

She continued walking.

"Who's there?" said the guard as he lifted his spear. He could only see a vague silhouette in the distance. "Visiting time is over! Go back!"

The girl's combat boots clicked on the pavement. She wore the same white kimono with the grey sash around her waist. It was also the same black cloak draped around her shoulders. She was ready to use her extremely sharp knives against the guards if they resisted. She wouldn't need her katana in such a simple situation. Anyway, Shark was bound to come and help her any second.

That was when everything started to get too confusing for the guards.

The girl had stopped moving and was simply standing there, as if waiting for a signal or an arrival. She was in a safe distance from the spears, but that could be arranged. The guards were not intimidated and were definitely not afraid of approaching her.

"Tell us what you want or else, you'll get hurt."

Wow, what a threat. The Black Rose of Shinigami would have laughed out loud if not of her incredible self control. Did the guards really think that their pathetic training at the Royal Academy would work against _her_? They were one hundred years too early to say that.

One of the guards was irritated by the silent treatment she was giving them and was about to hit her. However, Shark was already on the move. As the assassin took the two guards' full attention, he was able to sneak up on them and knock them out. He would have made a clean cut if he killed them, but the girl didn't want useless killing.

_We don't need to give them any extra information on us._

Without even sparing him a glance, she walked past him and into the prisons. "That was too easy," the assassin said. "The Kingdom isn't as challenging as the Master had promised."

She ventured deeper into the somber building fearlessly. The large metal door held no resistance against her agile fingers. She managed to open the lock in a matter of seconds. Inside, the dirty floor was covered with a thin layer of straw. On the right corner, there was the prisoner, sleeping. That was Yasuhiro, the so-called living legend. However, just like any legend, he was about to become history. His reign was over in the Rukongai.

The Death Goddess had stricken again.

"Who are you?" asked the man, awakened by the unfamiliar presence.

He tried to get a better look at her, but it was too dark. He didn't recognize the voice immediately, but it sounded familiar to him. After a few seconds, Yasuhiro finally realized who was talking to him: it was the girl who had defeated him so easily that day.

"I'm the Black Rose of Shinigami."

Of course she was from Shinigami. That night, he had clearly seen the Crest, a snake curled around a cross. Shinigami ruled at night at places where the king could not reach. Everyone feared it, including him, the Great Yasuhiro. The man closed his eyes after that particular revelation hit him. If the Black Rose of Shinigami was sent there to finish him off, then he couldn't do much about it.

His fate had been sealed.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

The assassin stepped out of the dark prison.

It took her a few seconds to get adjusted to the light outside, created by the burning torches fixed on each side of the entrance. There was a young man waiting for her. He was wearing black from head to toe and a black scarf was tied around his neck to hide his identity. He was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, next to the entrance of the prisons. The two spears of the guards who were previously chasing Black Rose were beside him. He had helped her back then and saved her from those guards.

They were _partners_ after all.

He was Shark, the Blade Master. His swordsmanship was unmatchable. They say that King Kuchiki Byakuya was the best fighter in the Kingdom. Shark had wanted to challenge him for a long time.

"The Shark of Shinigami, a Blade Master... That title suits you, _especially_ when you lose yourself."

"Stop it. I don't like being reminded of that _thing_."

Shark never really liked his title, but he deserved it. He was never one for fame and attention, but he attracted some anyways. Just like how he attracted tons of girls after him.

"Rose, just let me warn you," Shark said in a somber voice.

Without letting him pursue the matter any further, the assassin nodded.

"I already know."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Night Rukongai Society, ****Kuchiki****Kingdom**

**April 10th, ****Midnight**

"Master, I have returned."

"Well...?"

"You predictions were right."

"Perfect," the master said after a low chuckle. "The plan must be executed."

"It is as you wish."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Seven** is coming up next!

Next time on **Toxic **: Hitsugaya at the rescue!

Stupid Sinister Blades! How dare that Ryo person throw me, Hinamori Momo, out of the shop? Just because I wanted him to pay for the services we offered. Of course he had to pay! Everyone else paid for the tea and the waitresses who served them, so what the hell made that Ryo person think that he could just get away without paying?

I'm very thankful that Hitsugaya-sama came here to save me. Wait. What? Right, I'm sorry. I meant **Captain** Hitsugaya.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please send me your feedback by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	8. Hitsugaya at the Rescue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

- Hitsugaya at the Rescue -

* * *

**District 7, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 12th, Morning**

Hitsugaya's katana, Hyourinmaru, clashed against a larger blade.

His opponent was grinning. He noticed the Tenth Squad's insignia stitched on Hitsugaya's left chest and asked, "What is a Royal Officer doing here?"

Effortlessly, Hitsugaya pushed him back. With a final blow, he knocked him out. Without hesitating, he grabbed Hinamori's hand and pulled her deeper into the Rukongai. The small girl had been staring at him in horror. How was she to guess that a boy her age would be able to do such incredible maneuvers with such a dangerous weapon?

"Hinamori, why did they attack you?" Hitsugaya asked her once he judged that they were far enough from the threats.

"Sinister Blades... They came again."

F.L.A.S.H.B.A.C.K

Hinamori was serving her last table before her break-time.

"Thank you for coming," she said after she led her customers to the door. "Please come again."

She bowed at her customers' retreating back. When she lifted her head up, a handsome blond man was standing in front of her. She knew that he was part of Sinister Blades, an illegal organization of mercenaries. They were easily recognized since they had the Crest tattooed on their skin: it was a katana with a dragon curled up around it.

There were three ladies and eight young men behind him. All of them were good fighters, not to mention trained and accustomed to fights.

The men were wearing loose kimonos with their katanas clipped to their belt. They didn't look evil and weren't ugly. In fact, some were even handsome and had charm. The ladies were either wearing combat kimonos or short kimonos that would permit them to move around easily. Their weapons were fixed to their back or around their hip, depending of the sort of weapons they carried.

They all looked like proud warriors in all their glory, but Hinamori knew more than that. She knew that they were murderers, assassins, killers.

At least they weren't sneaks. All official organizations like Sinister Blades had a strict code of honor. Whoever didn't respect that would be kicked out of the organization. It was a good thing that these young men were 'honest' villains. None of them were cowards or traitors. They were frank and were more reliable than most nobles. They might be mercenaries, but they didn't lie and will never backstab anyone, including their deadliest enemy. Killing an enemy with a backstabbing trick wasn't honorable. It was shameful.

That didn't mean that they were civilized gentlemen.

She had to use a lot of self control to not back away from him for safety. She managed a small smile and asked with her sweetest voice, "How may I help you, sir?"

The blond man, who seemed like the leader of the group, offered her a cruel smile before pushing past her and into the shop. The others followed him and a sinister air surrounded the group. One of them, a very pretty girl with long brown hair, gave Hinamori an evil look as she passed by.

A few waitresses passed by him and all had been hit by his charming looks. Hinamori made a face; she hated people who used their looks as a weapon. The man clearly belonged to that despiteful category. It wasn't long before Reiko also poked her head into the tea room to see who had made such a fuss.

Being Reiko, she just had to have that little superiority over the other waitresses or else, she wouldn't even sleep in peace at night. So, it was in all her authority that she came out to see who was making such a fuss. With her two friends following closely behind her, she stopped dead on her tracks as soon as her eyes laded on the blonde.

He smirked at Reiko and asked, "Would you like to escort us to a table for twelve, please?"

Hinamori quickly turned around as the scene started to get quite disgusting as Reiko used her eyelash-batting technique at full power on him.

Hinamori was still at the counter when the blond man had finished and was about to exit the shop.

_'Wait a second, he didn't pay yet!'_

She called out, "Sir!"

However, she wasn't sure that she should have. His group of friends was quite threatening.

The blond turned around. "What do you want?"

God, that was intimidating. However, she wasn't about to back down. She took a deep breath. A customer had no right intimidating a waitress. He had no right hurting her, so there was nothing to fear. Anyway, wouldn't Urahara-san come to her rescue if something wasn't right?

She forced a smile out and said, "You haven't paid yet."

He looked at her blankly and asked, "So what?"

"I'm sorry, but we are not offering service for free here."

The blonde man raised an eyebrow. Was she trying to oppose him? He walked towards her and put his hands down on the counter. He came really close, as if to threaten her. "Do you know who I am?"

"You have to pay, no matter who you are," Hinamori said politely, but firmly.

"What's your name, little girl?"

"Aren't you supposed to give your name before asking for another's?"

The blond man looked like he was about to hit her, but then, an amused smile lit his face. "You're not bad for a waitress. The name is Ryo, Takahashi Ryo. Now, tell me yours, brilliant girl."

"Hinamori Momo," she replied without flinching.

"I'll remember that. For such a small girl like you to have the courage to oppose to me, it's a first. But, paying is not my thing, so you'll just have to let us leave."

Takahashi Ryo was very handsome. Girls would fall to their knees in front of him. He had a lady killer smile, capable of capturing any girl's heart and soul. A simple gesture from him could melt girls' hearts and his presence could make ladies faint. His deep blue eyes were as cold as the ones of a killer, but it was that kind of mysterious look that caught numerous girls' attention.

With a last wave directed at Hinamori that would make most girls faint, Ryo was on his way out.

However, those little tricks didn't work on her. She came out from behind the counter and blocked his way out. "I'm sorry, but all customers have to pay to receive any service. I'll have to keep you from leaving."

The other employees have followed the exchange closely. Obviously, Reiko had wanted to have her say in the matter, but the girl noticed the large amount of weapons they carried on them and judged that it was way too troublesome to deal with. She preferred shutting up just that time and left the spotlight for Hinamori.

Ryo snapped. Of course, playing with Hinamori had seemed fun at first, by the girl was too persistent for his liking. He got annoyed and grabbed Hinamori by the collar and lifted her up. "Just move out of the way, will you?"

Without giving it a second thought, he threw Hinamori out of the shop. The young girl got ready for the impact, but it never came.

"Hey, are you alright?" a very worried Hitsugaya asked her.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**District 7, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki****Kingdom**

**April 12th, Morning**

Hitsugaya, disguised as a simply officer, was collecting information about Shinigami.

They had recently discovered Yasuhiro's death and the Gotei 13 had doubted that it had something to do with the previous two murders. However, Hitsugaya had received new orders from the King. He was to capture the girl who had battled Yasuhiro without fail. He brought Matsumoto with him (they are partners in the Gotei 13) and went to find out more about that mysterious fighter.

As the reached district seven, they heard shouts coming from a very familiar tea house, but quarrels were quite common in the Rukongai, so he let it pass. However, Fate seemed to have wanted him there.

As he approached the place, a girl literally flew out of the shop. She hit the small Captain who caught her at the last second (Captain Instincts are useful sometimes) and gently put her down.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Hinamori blinked a couple of times and jumped when she saw him. "Hitsugaya-sama, what a surprise it is to see you! Matsumoto-san is here too!"

Hitsugaya cringed at the title. He knew that it was courtesy, but it still sounded too much. She addressed him with 'sama' because he was a customer, but the Captain wasn't used to it. That made him sound like a superior master or something.

"Hinamori-san, what happened?" Matsumoto asked.

However, before the small girl could answer, Ryo and his gang came out. A few already had their weapons out, looking for a fight. Matsumoto instinctively put her hand on the guard of her wakizashi. She wasn't going to hold back because those people will deserve a small lesson for hurting innocent civilians.

"Hey, Hinamori Momo, are you looking for a fight with me? If you want to get away unhurt, you'll have to treat us, _all_ of us."

Hitsugaya helped her up. Hinamori wasn't hurt physically, but she didn't do all too well. Her eyes showed distress and her lips quivered. She obviously didn't want a fight. However, Ryo's gang didn't agree on that.

"Takahashi-san, if the two newcomers are in the way," she said as she eyes Matsumoto and Hitsugaya, "we can just whip them out along with her," one of the girls suggested.

"Oh, Lilia, I like that," Ryo said. With an agile flick of the wrist, he took out his katana.

"Ladies and gentleman, will you be kind enough as to entertain me today? Lilia, try testing them."

"Easy," Lilia said with a grin. As fast as a cat, she gave herself a boost of energy and dived at them with her katana out.

Matsumoto swiftly took out her wakizashi and warded off the shots. Lilia smirked at her and said, "It's not such a pathetic weapon that's going to take me down. Come on, girl, give me a real weapon."

Matsumoto was getting really annoyed by her attitude. What did she mean by 'pathetic weapon'? Her wakizashi, Haineko, was one of the best weapons ever! "Cap, I mean Hitsugaya, please get Hinamori-san to a safe place."

In the Rukongai, there were many curious people. A small crowd had already formed around the fight, but the people weren't stupid and left a large space in the center for the fight.

"Come on, Hinamori, let's go."

Hitsugaya led the way, but Ryo wasn't about to let them get away. He sent three of his best men to fight Hitsugaya. Judging by Hitsugaya's earlier reaction and demarche, he could tell that the boy had some skill. Hitsugaya sighed. He knew that those men were no match for him and was trying to figure out a way to put Hinamori into safety without shedding blood. However, Fate really seemed to hate him that day.

One of the men charged at him. At the speed of lightning, Hitsugaya took out the katana fixed to his back and blocked the hit agilely. He might be shorter than average, but he didn't lack strength. As easily as pushing back a lifeless doll, Ryo's men were done.

"Let's go."

Hinamori followed him obediently, but they couldn't make it really far.

Ryo had come personally.

E.N.D F.L.A.S.H.B.A.C.K

"Tell me more about them," Hitsugaya suggested.

The two of them were close to the ninth district, which was pretty far from the seventh district. Hinamori was a bit worried earlier as to how she'll be able to go home, but it was the least of her worries now. For Hitsugaya, it was a good occasion to get information. He would be soon surprised by Hinamori's large knowledge about the Rukongai.

"Sinister Blades is a group of mercenaries. I know quite a lot about them since they seemed to have taken a liking to our shop. Every month or so, a squad would come and stir up trouble. It's the first time that I've actually seen them. Normally, they come at night after my shift ends."

Hitsugaya was thinking that he should have arrested them. But by the time he comes back as the Tenth Squad's Captain, the Sinister Blades would probably be gone. As he was thinking, he hadn't noticed two people walking in their direction.

When he lifted his head up and noticed them, it was already too late. The two men bowed and greeted him formally, "Captain Hitsugaya."

Hinamori snapped her head around and stared at him incredulously.

"You're a Captain?"

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Eight** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : She knows who I am; she knows my soul.

A Family Crest, the seal, the insignia, the Chop, the Medallion, the Crest... All those were new words for me, the Captain of Squad 10. Of course, I knew a few things about them, but I couldn't even compare my knowledge to Hinamori Momo's. That girl had to be schooled for a very long time to be able to know all these... Not that any school taught stuff like that.

Wait, did Renji and Kira say that went to the Academy before? That girl knows how to **fight**? Well, it's time to show Sinister Blades that Royal Officers have some skills. Let's see. Will I be able to end this fight before it's too late for Hinamori?

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	9. The Tainted Beauty

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

- The Tainted Beauty -

* * *

**District 9, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 12th, ****Noon**

By revealing one's rank, that person was at a disadvantageous position.

That was why, in the Rukongai, you do not go around shouting that you have been promoted. By doing so, you had a high chance of being robbed by mercenaries. Since you have been promoted, that meant money and it was the one thing that everyone loved.

Hitsugaya's rank had been revealed to Hinamori. There were no more secrets about the young Captain anymore. She knew everything, which wasn't exactly something to celebrate about. Hitsugaya frowned. Normally, everyone knew about the rule: no one was to reveal their rank outside of Seireitei. "Who are you? I've never seen you guys before."

"We are new recruits. The Lieutenants of the Sixth Squad and the Third Squad are teaching us a few things about the Rukongai."

Ah, new recruits... No wonder they knew absolutely nothing about the rules. However, the person responsible for them would have to take full responsibility for their actions. It wasn't long before the said two lieutenants came too.

A red head was yelling, "You idiots! Don't run off just like that! I can't believe you even got admitted in the army!"

Hinamori stared a couple of minutes at the newcomers and blinked. She knew them. "Abarai Renji-kun and Kira Izuru-kun," she said. "What are you guys doing here?"

Abarai Renji stopped yelling at the two new recruits who were bowing like crazing as they apologized. It was a relief for them to have Renji focus on someone else than them.

"Ah, Hinamori-san," Kira said as he recognized her. He smiled at her warmly and said, "Long time no see."

Hinamori stood up and bowed at them formally. "Indeed, it's been a long time."

"Hinamori, you've changed a lot," Renji remarked. "You're quite different from the little girl we've met a few years ago, back then."

Hitsugaya hadn't understood everything, but one thing was clear. "Hinamori, you went to the Academy before? Did you want to join the Royal Army?"

Hinamori gave him a smile. "Actually, I wanted to join the Fourth Squad. It seemed like a nice place and I had a huge interest in medicine."

"Then, why did you drop out? I don't think that they would have refused you," Hitsugaya commented.

"Yeah, why did you drop out?" Renji asked. "You suddenly disappeared the day before graduation. It happened so fast that they didn't even get your diploma."

"I had family issues," Hinamori said politely, but firmly.

The three other guys sensed that those were her last words and decided to stop pursuing the matter while the new recruits chose to say quiet, which was a very wise decision.

"Hinamori, does that mean that you know how to fight?" Hitsugaya asked.

Now that he thought about it, she did keep up with him when they ran away from Sinister Blades, which should have been impossible for a commoner, especially a girl, to have so much stamina. Yes, he was being sexist again, but he was also being realistic since it was most people's case back then.

All students of the Academy learned the basics of hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship and Kidou no matter which Squad they wanted to join. Kidou was a special class that only the Academy offered. They taught you how to neutralize an enemy by attacking their Acupoints (acupuncture points or pressure points), how to use poison or explosives efficiently during a fight without bombing yourself and how to use the newest technologies of the Kingdom.

"I've learned no more but the basics."

"Captain Hitsugaya, don't listen to her. She's way too modest. Hinamori Momo always aced it, no matter what subject it was," Renji said. "She was even able to beat me in swordplay and that is something."

"Well, at that time, even Kira-kun was able to beat you," Hinamori pointed out.

"Now, now, that was simply luck," Kira said before Renji got violent.

Suddenly, Renji got serious. He looked at Hinamori and asked. "Are the rumors true?"

Hinamori bit her lips and nodded. "Yeah, there are true."

Hitsugaya was interested. "What are you talking about?"

Kira explained the situation to the young Captain. "We recently received reports from anonym sources saying that the Urahara Tea House had lost its Crest."

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Hitsugaya-san, you do know what Crests are, right?" Hinamori said patiently. "A Crest is something that represents your family or yourself. There are two kinds. One of them is the Chop. You stamp the chop on paper to prove its authenticity. The thing that you stamp is called a seal, which is actually the Family Crest."

"For richer families, they would engrave the seal at the bottom of a stool. On top of the stool will be a small statue, like a guardian for the family. The statue is often an animal. It can be a lion, a dragon, a tiger, or a phoenix or even smaller animals like mice and cats. You would stamp the seal or if you prefer, the Family Crest, beside the signature when it comes to formal papers."

"Yes, I knew that much."

"Well, the Crest proves that you own a certain territory. It defines your property, all the things you own from food (I'm not talking about cereals or cakes. I'm talking about some exotic medicinal herb or something like that) to a whole palace," Hinamori continued.

"Yes..."

"When a son of a rich family is an adult, the family would give him his own Crest, but that doesn't work for daughters since they would soon change families once they marry. A single person's Crest will always be engraved on a stool with his or her family's guardian, the small animal, sitting on top of the stool. Are you following me so far?"

"Yes," replied Hitsugaya. He knew all that alright, but he didn't interrupt her, which would have been extremely rude.

"However, that kind of Crest only works for signatures. There is a second kind of Crest called the Medallion. It's a piece of wood (for the poorer people) or a piece of metal that can go from iron to gold. The Family Crest will be sculpted on one side and the individual person's Crest on the other side."

"To sum it up, there are two kinds of Crest: the Chop, which is used for identification on paper, and the Medallion, which is used for your own identification just like a passport or an ID card. Both of them can define your properties since with the Chop, you can get the paper identification (like deep papers) and with the Medallion, you have to identify yourself first before you can have access to the belongings you've put in a deposit box," Hitsugaya said to make sure that he wasn't jumping to conclusions on his own.

"Yeah, it's something like that. While Urahara-san was away on a business trip, some mercenaries threatened our shop. At the end, we surrounded the Urahara-san's Medallion so that no one would be injured or worst, killed."

Kira and Renji stared at her.

"Wow, Hinamori, I didn't know that you became this knowledgeable. Where did you learn that? I thought that only the sons of rich families had a Crest or people who own quite some property. How come you know so much about something that you'll never possess?"

Hinamori shot Renji a very meaningful look. "How come you know so little about something that you already have? Tell me if I'm wrong, but all seated officers have their own Crest. Isn't that so?"

Renji sighed in defeat. Okay, he got the message. Hinamori knew way more than he did.

"Hinamori-san, did you guys simply lose it or did you have a Crest Exchange?" Kira asked.

"We just lost it. There was no exchange at all. They are using it as _hostage_."

This time, Renji was confused. "Now, will someone explain what an exchange is?"

Kira explained it this time. "It's some sort of contract between a legal dealer and an illegal dealer."

Hitsugaya nodded. "I've heard of them."

Hinamori took over. "Basically, Urahara-san would have to make a duplicate of his Crest, both the Chop and the Medallion, and the other party would have to do the same. That means that both would have access to everything the other possesses. The illegal dealer would be able to eat, drink and stay at our shop all they want without paying, but in return, they must protect the shop at the cost of their lives."

"Hey, how come I'm the only one who didn't know that?"

There was no time for that remark; Matsumoto was running towards them at full speed and yelled, "The Monkey Boss is after me!"

Kira stared at her and blinked, "The what?"

"See for yourself," Matsumoto said as she took Kira by the shoulders and turned him around to face the 'Monkey Boss'.

A bald man wearing a very simple kimono was running at them followed by another with long feminine lashes and navy shoulder length hair.

"Look at that bald man! He's the one leading all those troublesome monkeys!"

The bald man looked extremely enthusiastic when he saw Kira facing him and attacked. Kira reacted just as fast. His katana was out in a second and blocked the man's attack.

"Madarame Ikkaku, greetings," his opponent said as he jumped back.

"Kira Izuru, Lieutenant of the Third Squad," Kira answered. "What do you want?"

"We're just here to tell you guys that we, Sinister Blades, are not going to forgive anyone who dares to defy us. And that young lady over there," he said as he pointed at Hinamori, "isn't getting away without paying for what she had done."

Hitsugaya instinctively put himself in front of Hinamori and reached for his katana. Renji got a hold on his katana, Zabimaru, and got into a defensive position.

"You and you," Renji said as he pointed at the two new recruits. "Run back to Seireitei and ask for help."

"Yes, Sir," the two said after saluting.

"Good," Ikkaku, the bald mercenary said. "Now that all interferences are gone, let's end this. Yumichika, I want the shorty."

"Very well," Yumichika, the more feminine one, said as he looked around for a suitable target. "Then, I'll go with the lady. She's not very pretty, so I don't have any intentions of keeping her alive."

Matsumoto gritted her teeth at the insult and tried to jump at him, but Kira restrained her from attacking Yumichika right away. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing at all," Yumichika said. He slowly took out his Katana and pointed it at Matsumoto. "It simply means that you're _ugly_."

"That's it!"

Without waiting for the others, she charged at Yumichika first.

The clashing of the two katanas made a horribly loud sound. Since it was early afternoon, most people went back home or back to work after lunching outside. That was perfect since any passerby would only interfere in the fight. Ikkaku acted in synch; he immediately launched himself at Hitsugaya. The white haired Captain pushed Hinamori back and defended himself against the spear Ikkaku was wielding professionally. In the mean while, Renji and Kira were each facing two or three opponents.

Hinamori was left alone with no protection at all. She tried to back away as much as possible so that she wouldn't get hit by her own comrades, but it had been a mistake to do so. As soon as Ryo saw that she was alone, he attacked her from behind, hoping that she'll lose consciousness. Dealing with limp bodies was way easier.

Hinamori managed to dodge the hit, but by doing so, she fell into Ryo's awaiting arms. The man took off as soon as he caught her. That wasn't fair, ambushing her like that.

"Let go of me!" Hinamori yelled.

"Hinamori," Hitsugaya said as turned around, but it was too late. Ryo was a fast runner and had already covered a few hundred meters. Hitsugaya wanted to run after them, but Ikkaku wasn't about to let him leave.

He grinned at him. "Where do you think you're going?"

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**District 34, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 12th, Afternoon**

"I saw it."

Hinamori looked at Ryo with surprise. "What did you see?"

He was still carrying her, jumping from roof to roof for the past hour. Hinamori was surprised that he was still able to run at the same speed (which was really fast for a human being). Ryo looked at her for a second before directing his focus back to the road.

"I saw your _pendant_."

Ryo brutally reached into Hinamori's kimono and took out something. It was a majestic silver cross with black iron strikes on it. It was attached to a long silver chain around Hinamori's neck. A beautifully made crystal rose was in the center of the cross and its stem curled around it. At all four extremis of the cross was a small gem decorating it; at the top was a red ruby, at the bottom was a blue sapphire, on the left was a emerald and on the right was a diamond. The all was of extreme beauty.

"I presume you know what this means?" Hinamori said as Ryo dropped her chain, which she put back into her kimono.

The two had reached the outskirts of a small forest when Ryo finally gave his reply, "Of course."

That was everything she needed to hear from him. Hinamori agilely jumped out of his arms to land a good ten meters away from him as soon as her doubts were cleared. Her traditional sandals and kimono were disadvantaging, but she'll have to deal with it. Most importantly, he knew about her. He knew who she really was and anyone who knew that was to be eliminated. Her secrets had to be kept no matter what.

"A fully completed Shinigami Cross and the Crystal Clear Rose, those can only belong to one person."

Hinamori looked at him impassively.

"The Black Rose of Shinigami," Ryo muttered under his breath in a mix of admiration and respect.

A strong wind blew past them, messing up Hinamori's neat ponytail. With a swift flick of her wrist, a small knife around twenty centimeters appeared in her hands. Ryo backed away. It was a single step, but the meaning was the same; he was afraid.

"The Death Goddess will strike again."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Nine** is coming up next!

Next time on **Toxic **: The never ending case; they were trapped in it. It wasn't the same as a circle with no beginning and no end; it was spiral with a beginning, but no ending.

They are all looking for Hinamori who seemed to have disappeared. In the meanwhile, the Black Rose of Shinigami is on the move. Those who have offensed her will pay. Shark is also going to have his say. How dare that _brat_ hurt his **partner**?

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please send me your feedback by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	10. The Great Escape

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

- The Great Escape -

* * *

**District 37, Rukongai, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 15th, Evening**

"Keep searching!"

The order was clear. No one dared contradicting the authoritarian voice of the white haired Captain. He was so angry that he could kill without blinking. It has been three days since Hinamori disappeared.

F.L.A.S.H.B.A.C.K

It hadn't been five minutes since Ryo disappeared with Hinamori that Ikkaku, who seemed to lead, and Yumichika gave the order to retreat. Hitsugaya had been extremely surprised when all of them took off at full speed.

Hitsugaya Toushirou, Abarai Renji, Kira Izuru and Matsumoto Rangiku didn't give up either.

They ran after them, but their lack of Rukongai knowledge disadvantaged them. They could hardly avoid all the small traps of the Rukongai. For example, Matsumoto stepped on a faulty step that activated a trap. Long sharp bamboo sticks flew at them and they barely dodged them.

After half an hour, they lost sight of Sinister Blades.

E.N.D F.L.A.S.H.B.A.C.K

"Anyone who slacks off will be severely punished. We won't stop until we find them and rescue their prisoner, Hinamori Momo."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Sinister Blades' Hideout, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 15th, Afternoon**

Hinamori was tied up in a small, but clean room.

She hadn't spoken since the day she had been captured and remained unsociable with anybody who tried to approach her. She could escape if she wanted to, but since she wasn't threatened, she decided to stay and to explore the secret base whenever she had the chance. Being captured by Sinister Blades was going to be beneficial for her. By now, she had almost memorized the whole place and had spotted most traps.

She would take her leave whenever the right occasion will show up. She could force her way out right now, but since she wasn't fully equipped, it was going to difficult, but not impossible.

Suddenly, she heard a scream followed by another. She was immediately on her guards and reached for one of the knives that the Sinister Blades hadn't found during their search. They had confiscated her dagger, the one she kept clipped to her hip, and a few more weapons, but they were underestimated her. During one of her night escapades, she found the place where they kept her weapons and took most of them back. She didn't really care if they noticed or not. She was able to defend herself perfectly and they knew it as much as she did that she was toying with them.

It wasn't long before a hooded form entered her room by bursting open the door. It threw something at her. She caught it and smirked. It was her katana, Tobiume, enveloped in a piece of black cloth with a red string at one end to hold the cloth together.

"That's very nice timing, Shark."

"Well, are you coming with me or are you waiting for something to happen?"

"I just need to go get the few things they took from me."

Without waiting for his reply, she ran out of the room as fast as lightning. Shark blinked for a second before following after her and grumbled, "Does she really have to move that fast?"

However, he was stopped by Ryo, whose speed was also something dangerous.

"Leave, intruder," he said as he pointed his sword at Shark. "What do you want with us?"

Shark smirked at him. He recognized Ryo at first sight. Even if the young man hadn't showed up, he had planned to pay him a visit himself. "Now, now, aren't you the punk who kidnapped my _partner_?"

Blood was shed that night.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Squad 10 (Captain's office), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 15th, Afternoon**

It was a day like the other ones.

It _seemed_ like a day no different from the other ones. Hitsugaya would work with extreme concentration and Matsumoto would slack off like she always did. That was how it seemed to other people, but it wasn't the case. Something was on his mind.

Unlike his normal attitude towards paper work and captain duties, Hitsugaya's mind was wandering, his eyes giving the paper in front of him a blank stare. His fingers were fidgeting absent mindedly with the pen (the antique style of pen, which is actually a brush) he was holding in his right hand while his other hand supported his head. He wasn't focused on his work like he normally would. He was thinking about something else.

"Matsumoto, why did you think that Sinister Blades kidnapped Hinamori? I didn't know that they would punish people that way. They are so barbaric."

Matsumoto, who was currently reading reports, lifted her head up as her captain spoke. It took a few seconds for her to let those words sink in her head and comprehend what he said. "Well, Captain, you didn't live in the poorer sides of the Kingdom like I did, so it's only normal that you don't know how the Night Rukongai Society works. However, I'm surprised that they dared to attack her in broad daylight."

"Do they usually track them down to get revenge at night or what...?" said Hitsugaya as a soft knock on his door interrupted his unfinished sentence. "Come in."

He didn't like being interrupted. He was having an important discussion with his lieutenant and for once, she was listening. The door opened and a young officer stepped in. He bowed to the two. "Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto," said an officer.

"Report," said Hitsugaya.

"A few days ago, prisoner Yasuhiro had died. We brought the body in the fourth squad so that Lieutenant Inoue could examine it. Now that the analysis is complete, there is a meeting in the Fourth Squad in fifteen minutes," said the soldier.

"Very well," said Hitsugaya.

The soldier bowed again before he left to spread the message to the other Gotei 13 members. Hitsugaya stood up and started to get ready for the meeting. He slipped into his white haori while Matsumoto adjusted her insignia on her left arm.

"Don't tell me that it's the same person who did it. I wonder why they're always targeting the prisoners," said Hitsugaya Toushirou as he exited his office and went for the fourth squad.

It was the third prisoner who died and it was no coincidence. There had to be some link.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Squad 10 (Captain's office), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 15th, Afternoon**

In the Fourth Squad's meeting room, the Captains sat down around a long wooden table.

The Lieutenants were standing beside their respective Captain, ready to assist their superiors. Not far from there, in the operation room, laid the corpse of Yasuhiro. Orihime had covered his body with a special substance so that his body wouldn't rot. The body was completely covered with a white sheet and several medical tools were placed on the small table beside it. The meeting started.

Nanao took note of everything exchange so that nothing could be missed, not even a detail or a simple sentence because anything might be the key to the solution. Every Captain shared information about the organizations they suspected with many arguments to support their point. They also covered the motives and the way they might have killed the prisoners.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but what happened to the guards?" Kira, Lieutenant of the third squad, said.

"We found them unconscious, but they are fine by now," said Unohana Retsu, Captain of fourth squad. She saw Hitsugaya's questioning look and nodded. "If you wish to interrogate them, please go ahead."

The interrogating part was Hitsugaya's responsibility. He directed the investigation, so he should be able to ask the right questions. Of course, he could get assistance from other people if he wished for it, but Hitsugaya was a genius and he hardly ever asked for help.

He did solve and lead most of the cases of the Gotei 13 and became a very experienced interrogator. It wasn't for nothing the King wanted him to lead this case because he had never failed to solve them no matter how hard they might've been. The King needed someone experienced, someone like Hitsugaya.

By focusing too much on the investigation of the previous case, they had neglected the fact that it might have happened once again. If they had placed more guards, they would have had a higher chance of catching the culprit. That was the first mistake Hitsugaya made in this investigation and he hoped that it would be the last. No, it _had_ to be the last.

The others restarted their discussion. Most of them were whispering, not wishing to disturb the others beside them. The teams were talking between them and were discussing their next step. Hitsugaya scanned the room until he noticed that Orihime wasn't present.

"Yes, I will need to interrogate the guards, but before I go, I'd like to ask about Lieutenant Inoue Orihime. Captain Unohana, how is she?" asked Hitsugaya. He hadn't seen her and wondered if her state had gotten worst. It wasn't supposed to, not after what he had given her.

"Orihime has seen better days, but I'm sure that she'll recover quickly. At least, let's hope for that and thank you for you concern, Captain Hitsugaya, it's very nice of you," replied Unohana in her gentle voice.

"If there is anything I can do, please don't hesitate." He turned around and faced Team Eight, which was composed of the Captain and Lieutenant of the Eighth Squad. "Lieutenant Nanao, I need you to come with me."

"Yes, Captain Hitsugaya," said Nanao as she followed him out of the room.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Squad 6 (Interrogation Chambers), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 15th, Afternoon**

In a dimly lit room, the two guards were each sitting on a wooden chair.

Their stares were blank and their hands were slightly shaking, making the chains of their handcuffs collide with each other, producing a tingling light sound. They knew very well that they had disappointed their superiors and they weren't the least bit proud of themselves. The two of them were waiting for their doom, wishing that their death could be sweet and quick.

Failing a mission meant a lot. They were to guard the Royal Prisons by preventing anyone from getting in or out without proper identification. Not only did they fail to prevent a suspicious person from entering, but they also lost Yasuhiro who could have become a valuable source of information. Captain Zaraki had many ways to make him talk, but all those efforts were in vain and the precious information died along with Yasuhiro. Their punishment would be severe, but they were still futilely hoping that someone would be kind enough to let the matter slip.

The door suddenly opened, startling them. When they saw Hitsugaya walking in with his icy aura, they didn't dare to move. The young Captain sat down calmly and gestured for Nanao to sit beside him. The two guards were facing them; all their facial expressions could be seen. Nanao opened her note book and got ready to note. Everything was quiet and the two guards nearly died of fear when Hitsugaya stared into their eyes.

The young Captain wasn't the type to be merciful.

"Please don't kill us!" said one of them.

The other one gave him a disgusted look. What the hell was he thinking? He wasn't going to beg them for mercy, not in a hundred years. He wasn't that desperate and he will face the authorities with dignity, accepting any kind of punishment he deserved. He was brave, but those courageous thoughts did not mask his fear.

Hitsugaya was slightly surprised by his sudden outburst, but he didn't say anything. He and Nanao exchanged a look, but before any of them could speak, the other guard whispered to his partner. "Hideki, what's your problem? Don't act so pathetically in front of Captain Hitsugaya!"

"But Toshiyuki, we're young! We don't deserve to die! Please don't kill us, Captain Hitsugaya!"

Toshiyuki looked back at Hideki. He recently turned twenty-two and Hideki was turning twenty-four shortly. They were young, but that wasn't an excuse for acting that way in front of superiors.

"Who said that we were going to kill you?" asked Hitsugaya.

The guards seemed taken back by the question. "But... we failed a mission and the consequences must be very severe, so I thought that maybe..."

"You've got it all wrong," said Nanao. She pushed back her glasses up and looked seriously at the two guards. "Yes, we are very disappointed, but we won't kill you. It's simple a waste of human resources." She paused a bit and continued. "We're simply going to ask you a few questions, and then you are free to do whatever you want. Of course, causing trouble isn't in your options. Are you cooperating?"

Hideki, fearing for his life, nodded quickly. Toshiyuki hesitated a bit before agreeing. They really thought that they would lose their lives, but they were glad that they weren't condemned to death. Hideki answered for both of them, "Yes, we will cooperate and answer as much as we can."

"Good. Let's open the interrogatory, now shall we?" said Hitsugaya.

The two guards first started by confirming their personal details like name, age, rank and such. As their profile started to take form, Hitsugaya started to ask the real questions. "Give us as much information as you can. First, describe the physic."

"Excuse me, sir?" asked Hideki, confused. Everything seemed pretty easy until then. Stating his name and profession wasn't that hard and he started to relax until that particular question was asked.

"I mean, what did the assassin look like? The height was it tall or short? Did the assassin look like someone we might know? The assassin could have been part of the palace guards. "

"Oh...um..." said a Hideki.

Toshiyuki hadn't said a word except the questions directly related to him. If Hideki could answer it for him, he didn't even bother to open his mouth. He was displeased to see something close to pity in Nanao's eyes when Hideki begged for mercy. He didn't want pity and sympathy was just as bad.

"Well?" urged Nanao. "Is there something we should know?"

Hideki looked at Toshiyuki for support, not wanting to answer to that particular question alone, but the young soldier simply looked elsewhere.

"So there is something we should now," concluded Nanao. "If none of you speak, it'll be considerate as bad cooperation."

Toshiyuki did not want a bad reputation. Not only did he fail his first mission, he will also be blamed for bad cooperation and not wanting to reveal important information for a top secret case.

"I can't say much about the person, but I know that it's a she."

"Wait... Did you say 'she'?" asked Hitsugaya suddenly.

"Yes, it's a girl," Toshiyuki confirmed.

"What did she look like?" asked Hitsugaya hurriedly.

"She's quite young, a bit younger than me," said Toshiyuki. "She's pretty short and very skinny too..."

"How short?" asked Nanao.

Toshiyuki immediately blurted out. "She's about Captain Hitsugaya's height, ma'am."

Hitsugaya's brow twitched in annoyance, but he quickly dismissed other thoughts and motioned for him to continue.

"We didn't see her face since it was hidden by the hood and her clothes were hidden by a long black cloak too," Toshiyuki said.

The young captain rubbed his temples and sighed. "Very well...was there anything that marked her?"

The guards stayed silent for a moment and Toshiyuki said, "There is one thing that I am sure of."

"I'm ready to note," said Nanao.

"Before we even reached her, we were attacked."

"She attacked you even before you could react?" asked Nanao, surprised that the girl was that powerful.

"No," the guard added quickly. It would be such shame if they had been beaten up by a girl. "It was someone else, but we didn't know who. I am sure that she wasn't alone that night."

"So we can conclude that the killers are working in groups. This is very important information," said Hitsugaya to Nanao. She nodded back at him, fully understanding what he meant.

"Is there anything else you can remember?"

"I don't think so, Captain Hitsugaya," said Toshiyuki who was in front of Nanao. "After she passed by, we chased after her, but I felt dizzy soon after I started to run. Then, everything went black."

"Well, I think that's it for today. Lieutenant Nanao, let's inspect the cell later," said Hitsugaya as he got up, ready to leave. He walked over to the door and opened it, but before he could actually step out of it, Hideki held him back.

"What about us? Aren't we supposed to get released?"

The white haired captain turned his head away and stayed silent.

"Not immediately. You will get out once we find out about that mysterious girl and her partner."

Without glancing back, the two members of the Gotei 13 walked out of the cell and disappeared down the hall.

"Will they ever get out, Captain?" Nanao asked. She knew that it was a very short punishment if the case could be solved, but there was a possibility that the case will never end.

"Who knows? This case is far from over."

_I have a feeling that it'll never end, just like a spiral._

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Ten** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : Oops, I did it again.

Clumsy Reiko bumped into Hitsugaya and dropped her tray. Now, all those _beautiful_ china cups are going to waste. Hitsugaya, being a gentleman, helps her pick up the mess. However, there was someone watching all along. Rukia...

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	11. Sweet and Cold: Dessert and Vengeance

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

- Sweet and Cold: Dessert and Vengeance -

* * *

**District 23, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 16th, Early Morning**

"They're looking for you."

"I know."

Hinamori was in a bright room. Her kimono had been washed and Ryo's blood stains had disappeared from the midnight blue fabric. The man hadn't died, but he had learned his lesson: angering the Black Rose of Shinigami is fatal.

Hinamori hadn't planned on hurting him for kidnapping her a few days ago. If she had defended herself in front of Renji of and the others, they would have been questioning her and demanding explanations she couldn't give. However, by kidnapping her while aware of her Status in the Night Rukongai Society was unforgivable.

He had to be punished the mercenary way. After punishing him, Hinamori returned home (anyway, one of her houses). To be able to hide in the Rukongai, she had more than one place she called 'Home'. But, on her way back, she had been intercepted by those Sinister Blades punks and brought back to their secret base.

She knew that resisting would cost her a lot of energy, so she let they bring her to their base, but it was clear that she wasn't letting the others search her or try to treat her like an ordinary prisoner. She had her necklace out and everyone could identify her as the Black Rose of Shinigami.

"What are you planning to do?" Shark asked her. He was cloaked, concealing his identity even when he was alone with Hinamori, his partner. He had to be ready wherever he went.

"Revenge, of course," Hinamori said as she clipped the last knife to her belt.

It was the fearful uniform she wore whenever she was acting as the Black Rose of Shinigami. She put on her single earring (left ear), a smaller version of her Shinigami Cross, and put on her ring, which was a silver snake biting its own tail with eyes made of ruby. The Shinigami Crest, a snake curled around a cross, was stitched to her left chest and both sleeves.

To top it off, she draped her dark cloak on her shoulder, putting on the hood too. She grabbed her katana, Tobiume, on her way out and left the house.

Hinamori was fully equipped and she was about to give Sinister Blades a good piece of her mind.

"Let's go," Shark said as stood up too.

"No," Hinamori said as she pushed him back into the chair he was sitting in.

"The Death Goddess with strike again...alone."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**District 7, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 16th, Early Morning**

Hitsugaya was extremely tired.

He only asked several easy questions, but due to many days of insomnia, his body was way beyond its limit. With Matsumoto at his side, the two officers strolled over to their favorite tea house. However, the usual excitement didn't fill him.

The Rukongai was as lively as usual with merchants stationed on each side of the road, calling out for buyers. Life was going on without her.

Hitsugaya looked at his plain black kimono with an exasperated look. The bottom of it was dirtied by dust and his sandals were in pitiful conditions. Matsumoto wasn't really worried about hers since she was wearing combat boots, which were made with higher quality material. They were much more comfy than those hemp sandals they had to wear in the army.

Maybe he'll get a pair too, if they actually fit.

"Captain, why are you so gloomy?"

"Well, don't you think that it's quite pathetic that we couldn't even stop a kidnapping when we are ranked Captain and Lieutenant?"

Matsumoto shook her head. "First of all, we were outnumbered. Second of all, we were ambushed by them. Third of all, they are really strong. Those three facts have led us to such a disastrous ending. It simply means that we need more training to get accustomed to these situations."

Hitsugaya continued walking without saying anything else.

His mind was wandering, thinking about several things at the same time. One of those thoughts was about Hinamori in her nice kimono, but he tried not to go further than that. His deep frown didn't loosen up and Matsumoto was starting to get worried. Hitsugaya never ignored her for long. When he didn't speak to her for more than five minutes usual meant that he was mad. She was sure that she didn't do anything to offend him and quickly dismissed those worrying thoughts.

They were nearly there, but Hitsugaya wasn't in the mood for treats. Matsumoto never lost her cheerful smile and was ready for sweets all the time. She happily marched over to the shop and entered without waiting for Hitsugaya. The white haired teenager stayed outside. He was still deep in thoughts, thinking about all the things Hideki and Toshiyuki revealed. Hitsugaya was about to enter the tea house to join Matsumoto when he accidentally knocked a girl, probably a waitress from the shop.

"Sorry," said Hitsugaya absent-mindedly and continued walking until he heard multiple crashing sounds.

"Watch it, will you?" said the girl as she bent down.

The waitress was carrying a wooden tray with varieties of tea cups on it, but when she collided with Hitsugaya, she dropped the tray and everything crashed.

Hitsugaya mentally sighed, frustrated. '_How can people be so clumsy?'_

Being the gentleman he was, he bent down and started to pick up the shattered china pieces while he offered in a gentle voice, "Let me help you."

"No, it's fine. I can manage. Don't..."

The waitress stopped in the middle of her sentence and stared at her helper, Hitsugaya.

She suddenly blushed madly and turned her head around swiftly while refusing to meet the Captain's eyes. She was concentrating so hard on picking up the broken pieces of china with him that she didn't even notice him stare at her for a couple of seconds.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, she allowed herself to steal a glance at the handsome Captain and a darker shade of red colored her pale face.

Being a really clumsy girl, that simple moment of distraction was enough for her to get injured. The shards she was holding in her palm cut her hand as she distractedly put them on the wooden tray. The contact with the sharp edge of the china piece was painful and the girl bit her lips to prevent a scream, but she was so surprised by the pain that she couldn't help the squeal that escaped from her lips.

The blond girl quickly used a napkin to stop the bleeding, but it wasn't a very practical solution. The white haired Captain, Hitsugaya, was alarmed by the sharp inhale and the squeal and turned around. He kneeled beside her when he saw her bleeding finger and took out a bandage that he always kept on him for emergency issues. He gently wrapped it around the wound.

The young girl looked at him with admiration and stayed quiet as the young man bandaged her hand like a pro. She felt really good because someone cared about her and let a small smile grace her thin lips. Hitsugaya would even have admitted that she was beautiful if Hinamori hadn't filled his mind.

When he finished wrapping, he bit the end off and put the bandage back into his kimono. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, thank you. May I ask your name, sir?"

"It's Hitsugaya Toushirou."

"Hitsugaya-kun, it's nice to meet you. I'm Suzuki Reiko."

Hitsugaya nodded in acknowledgement and waited for Reiko to finish collecting all the fragments of the china cups.

"Here you go," he said as he handed her the wooden tray with the pieces he collected. Since the job was done, he stood up and dusted himself. He waited until she finished placing all the pieces in the tray and pulled her up.

"Thank you, Hitsugaya-kun."

Someone cleared their throat and got the attention of the two.

A raven haired girl was standing at the entrance of the shop, leaning on the wall with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was wearing a large combat kimono, similar to Royal Army's uniform, but it was pure white with red patterns.

It was impossible to read her facial expressions, but anyone who knew her could see that she wasn't pleased. The girl looked at Reiko with superiority before she turned towards Captain Hitsugaya and faked out a pretty convincing smile.

"Welcome to Urahara Tea House, Hitsugaya Toushirou-san."

"Since you already know my name, I guess it's only fair that I get yours," Hitsugaya said, his hand reaching for his katana.

"Rukia," she said.

"What do you want from me?"

The girl unfolded her arms and approached Hitsugaya.

"I want information."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Sinister Blades' Hideout, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 16th, Night**

She silently crept into the base.

It was close to something you would call castle, built near the edge of a forest. Most windows were still illuminated, which was normal since the building was a hotel during the day. What the customers there didn't know was that they were receiving the hospitality of deadly mercenaries.

It hadn't been that hard to find. Her followers had left out clues for her every kilometer or so. Every time she stopped for information, one of her subordinates would walk past her and silently communicated to her the next set of directions. No one could suspect anything, since she simply seemed to walk past them. It wasn't unusual for girls to carry swords and with the large cloak concealing her other weapons, she was safe from suspicions. With the hood off, she looked like any traveler who knew how to defend herself.

She wasn't stupid and knew that some people were sharper than others. She knew that she was running the risk of being discovered by someone, but she was ready for it. She divided the orders, information and directives between her subordinates. Even if one of her informers was discovered, he or she could only reveal a limited amount of info to the enemy.

Not that any of her people would betray her.

As silently as a shadow, she reached the first set of doors. There were guards, but it wasn't a problem.

She hit their pressure points to silence them. She didn't need the whole organization jumping on her at the same time. Every time she encountered someone, she would try to pass by them without getting seen. She wanted to prevent any unnecessary fights since it would a waste of time and would tire her for nothing. If she was spotted, she would aim for their pressure points to silence them.

However, as she approached her destination, her opponents were getting tougher. She unsheathed her thin katana and cut through them without aiming for the vital points. She had to act fast before the whole organization was alarmed by her presence.

She didn't want to kill anyone, not yet. If she could complete her plan successfully, then she'll need the complete organization alive.

Finally she had reached the final doors.

She was sweating, which was a good sign. She had used the previous small fights as a warm up and it had worked well. She was out of breath, which was another symptom following a good warm up, so there was nothing to be worried about. She took a deep breath to calm herself and was ready to enter.

She pushed the doors open.

She was at the rooftop and the glass ceilings had been open. Wind blew in the arena.

She let go of her cloak, since it would only be a nuisance when the wind was so strong. She revealed the snow white kimono she was wearing under. It stopped a little above her knees with a long split on her right side and large white sleeves reaching her elbows that allowed her to do all sorts of acrobatics.

Ash grey feathers adorned the bottom of the white kimono while the top was blank with no print. Instead of the traditional obi, she had a long grey colored silky ribbon around her petite waist. There were six knives clipped to her small hip (three on each side).

Her necklace was out and everyone could see it.

She was the Black Rose of Shinigami.

The wind blew harder, messing up her neat long hair tied up in a thick ponytail. Her thick silky grey ribbon left a long trail after her, carried by the wind. She approached the awaiting Ikkaku sitting on a throne and Yumichika standing beside him. Both were fully armed.

"What took you so long? We've been waiting."

"I guess I lost my element of surprise. Do you want a fair fight or are you going to give it to me?"

Ikkaku stood up. "Nothing comes without a price."

He flew at her and she thrust her katana forward.

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Eleven** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : The assassin had triomphed. The only way to determine a winner is by the way of the sword. Actions speak louder than words. Show it to him by killing him.

"We call her the Black Rose of Shinigami."

"They are _executing_ her?"

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	12. The Ice Prince's Trust

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

- The Ice Prince's Trust -

* * *

**Sinister Blades' Hideout, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 17th, Early Morning**

"Please welcome the new leader of Sinister Blades," Ikkaku said.

"We call her the Black Rose of Shinigami," Yumichika continued.

The crowd became mute. The whole organization was gathered in the 'throne room' waiting for the big news that their current leaders, Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika, had to announce. And they did not believe a single word when they actually said it.

"Ikkaku-san, what is the meaning of this?"

"We don't understand!"

"Can a girl actually lead us? Anyway, why the hell is she hooded?"

Her hood slowly slid off, revealing her young and beautiful features to the crowd of vulgar men who were trying to bash her. Tobiume was placed on her knees, which was extremely easy too reach, and she could have silenced them forever if she had wanted. Ryo, who was hiding in the shadows, decided to stay quiet. He knew that angering her meant nothing but trouble.

"Are you saying that I can't lead you?" she asked softly. "If I do remember, it says that whoever holds the Crest holds the power, am I wrong?"

She slammed down both the Medallion and the Chop on the small table in front of her. The night before, she had fought with Ikkaku and won the Crest. Ikkaku admitted his defeat and willingly let her take the lead of Sinister Blades. He was satisfied with the information Hinamori had given him, so he was more than happy to leave the mercenary gang.

"If you guys aren't happy with me as leader, then challenge me. If you win, I'll step out of this place and never come back, but if you lose, you'll have to obey. Whoever wants to leave may do as they please, but beware; I never said that I wouldn't get my revenge on those who dare to disobey the laws."

The mercenaries exchanged a few words among them.

Then, a beautiful lady stepped out and said, "Why not? In the Night Rukongai Society, sexism is against all laws. I remember that we've all agreed that we'll show the King how much stronger and smarter we are compared to his small army. Why can't we give her a chance?"

"Yeah! If she won against Ikkaku-san, then she must be something!" another man supported her idea.

"Well," Ryo said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Shall we welcome our new Queen with a bit more enthusiasm, please?"

Very few joined their voices to Ryo. Hinamori stood up and knew that she to do more than that to gain their trust and respect.

"Who would like a little show? I assume that most of you are still against the fact that I am the new leader. If none of you dare to challenge me, then I don't know if Sinister Blades it's still worth my time."

A large bulky man stepped out. She could see that he was nothing more but a huge mass of muscles with no agility whatsoever. That was going to be easy.

She lightly jumped down from her throne with Tobiume in her hands. As soon as her feet touched the ground, the man ran at her. Hinamori simply walked past him, the moment she drew out her katana was too fast to be seen. After she walked past him, the bulky man's stepped slowed down until they stopped. Blood spurted out and he crashed down on the floor, unmoving.

The cheers exploded.

In the meanwhile, Ikkaku and Yumichika were taking their leave. Hinamori had offered them to stay at the hotel (they did live there for many years), but they refused.

"Zaraki Kenpachi..."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Squad 10 (Captain's Room), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 17th, Morning**

Hitsugaya rolled over in his bed.

"Rukia, huh...? What a girl..."

He sat up and leaned on the wall. "That girl at the tea house, Suzuki Reiko, isn't what she seems either."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Why are girls so complicated?"

F.L.A.S.H.B.A.C.K

"You want to know where Hinamori Momo is, right? I'll tell you if you tell me what I want."

Rukia's voice was serious, leaving him no doubt that she wasn't joking. Hitsugaya frowned. What connection was between the two girls? How did she know that he was looking for her? How could she know where Hinamori was when he himself didn't?

"What do you want to know in exchange?"

They were still outside of the tea house. Hitsugaya had come face to face to Rukia. She noticed his katana, but it did not intimidate her in any way. She had one too, so they were even on that point. The only difference would be the skill and she was quite confident of hers, not to mention that she had _that_.

"Let's continue this inside." Rukia said as she eyed Reiko suspiciously.

Reiko gritted her teeth and bit her lips. "I didn't know that Hinamori had such a huge influence on him..."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

"Do you know a girl named Inoue Orihime?"

Hitsugaya almost gasped out loud. What did she want from Orihime? "Yes, there is a girl named Inoue Orihime."

"What do you know about her? Tell me everything."

Hitsugaya thought for a second. Was it worth it? However, giving out such information for something that _might_ be the key to a whole lot of questions running through his head wasn't a fair exchange.

"That's more than what we bargained for. I'm only willing to tell you something that is of equal value to what you're about to tell me. I will tell you how to find Orihime and you'll tell where Hinamori is."

"Oh, so you're addressing her as _Orihime_ with no title at all. You guys are pretty close, aren't you?"

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth at that. Fine, that girl was sharp, but he wouldn't let anything else out. "Either you take it or you leave it."

Rukia frowned. "Fine, that's a deal."

"No, it's not."

Hitsugaya and Rukia both looked up and found Reiko. She slammed her left hand down on the table while her other one was on her hips. She looked at Rukia right in the eye. "You're not going to get away with it, not with me around."

She then turned around towards Hitsugaya. "Hitsugaya-kun, I'll show you how to get to Hinamori Momo, but you can not reveal Inoue Orihime-san's information. It doesn't matter how much the other person has to give, that information is priceless."

Hitsugaya stood up so that he could look at her in the eye. Wait a second. "How do _you_ know that?"

Reiko stood up in her full height and showed him a cute cheeky smile. "I have reliable sources. You can't possibly survive in Rukongai without such things as eyes and ears everywhere to watch things out for you."

Hitsugaya frowned again and sat back down quietly. "We'll talk about this later, Suzuki Reiko-san."

He turned around to face Rukia once again. "I don't care which of you gives me the information. It doesn't matter who it's from, but it has to be reliable."

Suzuki Reiko offered, "Why don't you go with me? I'm not asking for anything in exchange, so you're not putting anything at risk."

Seeing that Hitsugaya wasn't completely convinced, she thought of something else. "You know what? In fact, I'm going to lead you there. If you're afraid that it's trick, you can always take me as hostage. I'm sure that with your skills," she said as she eyes his beautiful katana, "I don't think that I can be much of a threat."

Rukia was getting mad though. She didn't even get what she wanted and the deal was already off, stolen by someone else. Well, at least, she got one clue: Hitsugaya knew Orihime and they were quite close too. She calmed herself and stood up, pushing back her chair quietly. "Well, I'll take my leave now since I am no longer needed. Suzuki, it's not over."

Hitsugaya stood up too. "Well, when are we going?"

She gave him a sleek smile. "Right now is not a good time. There are a few things I have to take care of first. Don't have to talk with Matsumoto-san too?"

E.N.D F.L.A.S.H.B.A.C.K

Hitsugaya looked outside. "It's about time to meet her."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Sinister Blades' Hideout, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 17th, Morning**

"Are you serious, Rose-sama?"

Hinamori checked out the papers in front her once again to make sure that she hadn't left out anything or made any mistake. "Yes, I am sure. Please carry out these plans."

The lady who had spoken up for her when the whole organization made a huge ruckus about switching leaders was Ryo's cousin. She was a very smart woman and also had a lot of influence among the other Sinister Blades members. She supported Hinamori with all her might, which was a great help to Hinamori.

"Sakuno," Hinamori called. "I'll leave the management of the hotel to you."

"Just leave it to me," Sakuno, Ryo's cousin, said. "However, the plan for Ryo, I'm not sure it'll work."

"I wouldn't really worry about that. I just need something that'll make Sinister Blades decide to 'release' me. I just thought that using Ryo sounded right since he was the one I offended."

"I'll watch from the sides then," Sakuno said.

"Perfect," Hinamori said as she draped on her cloak.

"Takahashi Ryo, come with me."

Ryo stepped out of the shadows and followed Hinamori out. He had his katana ready.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**District 7, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 17th, ****Noon**

"Well, Hitsugaya-kun, aren't you dressed up fancily? Or shall I say _Captain_ Hitsugaya."

"I'm not dressed like this for fun you know," Hitsugaya said, dressed up in his full captain's uniform.

Reiko was dressed like a real noble lady. She had a full forest green kimono on and her hair was up in a very noble fashion. "Well, let's get going."

Hitsugaya nodded. In the streets, many people stared. You don't get to see a fully dressed Royal Army Captain in your everyday life and especially not one so young accompanied by such a beautiful and noble lady. The two of them took a carriage to get to the forty-seventh district.

The road was long and bumpy, but they got there after a few hours of traveling.

"Why are we going so far into the Rukongai?" Hitsugaya asked as they got off the carriage.

They were standing in the middle of a clearing. There were trees surrounding them, but there was no path in sight except the one they've came from.

"Because that is where the Sinister Blades' hideout is."

Hitsugaya looked at her for a long time. "How do you know where their hideout is? How can you know so many things?"

Reiko sighed. Well, he didn't seem to want to give up at all. She thought about it for a second. Should she really show him what she was capable of? Should she really reveal her secret and sources? He did show her that he was a captain and that was something. It surely meant that he trusted her somehow, right?

"Fine, I'll show you my 'ears' and 'eyes'."

She snapped shut her fan and said in a quiet voice, "Show yourself."

Three guys landed on the grass, surprising Hitsugaya who immediately reached for his katana. They were dressed in normal civilian clothes unlike the stereotyped spies who always dressed in black. They were tough guys that Hitsugaya probably could take out if he put in some efforts.

"These three are part of the group responsible of protecting and helping me when I'm in the forty-first district to the fiftieth district. However, I have other men to watch over me in the other districts. My information network is the most reliable source around, maybe even the best in the Night Rukongai Society."

Hitsugaya was overwhelmed by the amount of information he was getting from Reiko. He never knew that such a girl would have that much power in the Rukongai, not to mention that she was respected in the Night Rukongai Society.

"I'm ready to become your partner for the few cases you have to solve for the Gotei 13. It's always nice to have a partner who knows the Night Rukongai Society really well, isn't it? I promise that I won't leak out the information you hold. All the confidential information of the Royal Army won't get known by the Rukongai because of me. However, you have to promise that you keep this alliance between us for yourself."

"How can I trust you?"

Reiko sighed. God, that guy was way too careful. However, she really needed his cooperation. Having someone that highly ranked in the Army was bound to be beneficial someday, especially when she did not know how to fight at all. He might be able to get her out of trouble if she ever got herself in a mess, in one of those stupid fights that the Night Rukongai Society had once in a while.

Reiko hesitated before taking something out from her kimono.

Hitsugaya was surprised.

"I'll give you a handicap," Reiko said as she put the object in his hand. "This is a copy of my Medallion. If you have this, you'll have access to my information network. I'm telling you, the guys that I hired aren't some random people who only know how to listen and to watch. They are trained _assassins_. However, with this, I am giving you access to their services for free and I'm not asking for anything in return."

Hitsugaya promised himself to test out the object before trusting Reiko completely. "Perfect," Hitsugaya said as he put that back into his robes. "You have my word that this alliance is kept secret. Now, please lead the way."

Reiko smiled. He had decided to trust her. Even if she had to sacrifice a few things, the goal and help he might bring her would surely make it up. "Now, let's hurry up. The execution won't wait for us to show up."

Hitsugaya froze.

"They are _executing_ her?"

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Twelve** is coming up next!

Next time on **Toxic **: Hitsugaya will save her, the Black Rose in distress (That sounds aweful...)

Reiko will lead him to Hinamori and he will save her from Sinister Blades' claws. Ryo pressed his knife even harder on Hinamori's bare neck as he turned around to face Hitsugaya.

"You take another step, Captain, and this beauty is gone."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please send me your feedback by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	13. The Execution of a Goddess

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

- The Execution of a Goddess -

* * *

**District 48 (Sinister Blades' Hideout), Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 17th, ****Midnight**

Under the moonlight, his blade shone.

When they left the hotel, Ryo brought Hinamori to the top of a cliff in the middle of a forest. Her hands were tied behind her back and she had changed back into the midnight blue kimono she was wearing the day she was 'kidnapped' by Sinister Blades.

"Takahashi, what the hell are you doing?"

Ryo simply pushed her forward, his katana tightly pressed to her neck. He bent down and whispered in her ears, "Just keep moving or else I won't hesitate to cut your neck."

"Since you're planning on killing me anyways, why don't you do it right now before I take that opportunity away from you?" she said in a low threatening voice.

Hinamori growled at Ryo and kept walking forward until she reached the edge of the cliff.

"Do you really think that you can take that chance away from me?" Ryo said with a huge smirk. "You are pretty resistant for a girl your size. I was right that day; you are interesting, Hinamori."

A dark shadow was listening to them and reported every single detail he had seen and heard to Reiko and Hitsugaya, both waiting for his news. Reiko nodded and dismissed him after his detailed report. "I knew that they weren't going to let her live, but it's fishy. Normally, they would have tortured her until she died, but who knew that they were planning to just simply kill her like that?"

Hitsugaya adjusted the straps holding his katana and looked up toward the moon. The cliff was really high and falling from that was going to be dangerous. "I'm going up to get them. I'll capture Ryo alive if I can, but my first priority would be Hinamori's safety."

Reiko didn't like Hinamori that much, but she'll have to deal with it for the moment since Hitsugaya was so into her. She wouldn't have minded if Hinamori disappeared for good. However, she didn't dare offend her in broad daylight after she had learned her real identity via her information network. Hinamori's real identity was somewhat scaring her and worth respecting.

Hitsugaya ran up with his katana out. His footsteps were fast and quiet, which gave him the advantage over Ryo who barely had time to dodge his attack, dragging Hinamori around with him. Ryo pulled on Hinamori's hair, making her neck bare and pressed the knife even tighter, making a thin trail of blood leak out. He brought his hostage to face Hitsugaya and threatened him.

"You take another step, _Captain_, and this beauty is gone."

Hitsugaya halted, ready to strike at any time. He stared intensely at Ryo for a few seconds before dropping his fighting stance and went into a neutral mode.

Ryo looked at him suspiciously. "Put your katana away."

Hitsugaya obeyed without protesting. Hinamori frowned at that. Something definitely wasn't right about Hitsugaya. He wouldn't normally do something like that so obediently. He was the type to risk his life for other people without even thinking. He was that type of selfless man. Judging by his usual behavior, Hinamori concluded that there must have been something else there that Ryo hadn't noticed yet.

Ryo backed away near the edge of the cliff and Hinamori tensed. She had seen the height they were at and even if she had all the confidence in the world, it wasn't enough to assure her that she was going to survive the fall (if she falls) in one piece. She was confident enough to be able to stay alive because she had learned a bunch of moves in the Academy a few years ago, but she was convinced that she had little chance of getting out of the situation without loosing an arm of a leg.

While she was thinking of an escape plan, something attacked them from behind. Ryo moved out of the way just in time, but he had let loose on his grip on Hinamori. Since they were so close to the edge of the cliff, Hinamori was thrown off the cliff. Her fall was something totally predictable and Hinamori had a little doubt that Ryo had totally planned to throw her off if Hitsugaya attempted anything against him.

It was an awfully long fall for Hinamori. She flipped herself around so that she wouldn't land on her head first, but from such a height and without a good starting position, it was still pretty close to a suicide.

She tried to get a grip on the tall trees surrounding her, but the branches didn't resist to her weight. She wasn't all that heavy, but with gravity and the speed at which she was falling, it was a bit too much for such thin branches. Not even as the Black Rose of Shinigami could she land without loosing something. She couldn't do it with that state of mind (she was a _bit_ panicky) and with no equipment. If only she was _equipped_. If only she could get into the _Hypnotic Trance_ and activate her _Shikai_.

Before she hit the ground, someone caught her left wrist. She looked up and saw Hitsugaya hanging from his katana. A long and solid chain at the end of the katana was circling the large tree trunk. Hitsugaya judged the distance between them and the ground and frowned. Hinamori guessed by the worried look in his eyes that he couldn't hang on any longer.

"Hitsugaya-sama, I can land safely from here."

He ignored her and opened his fingers, letting them fall. His land was soundless and safe. He reached out and his katana fell into his bloody hands. "Hitsugaya-sama, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"It's nothing," he said as he put back the katana into its sheath. "Come on, let's go."

Matsumoto landed behind them and sheathed her katana too. "You've done such a nice job, Captain. I never thought that you would have dived after her without even thinking."

"What about that guy, Takahashi Ryo?"

Matsumoto sighed. "He's too fast for me. I think that helping Hinamori should be first priority. We can always catch Ryo later, but we can't save Hinamori another time."

"Yeah, I've noticed. Hinamori, you're injured."

"What?" Hinamori said. She had been so concentrated on Hitsugaya and his saving act that she hadn't even noticed her own injuries. '_What the hell is this? You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe how dulled my senses have become when Hitsugaya is around! I'm so glad that I'm not on an assassination mission right now or else I'll be defeated for the very first time._'

"You didn't notice?" Hitsugaya asked.

"Not really," Hinamori said as she looked at her bleeding arm carefully. "I guess I was so engrossed by the blade on my neck."

_'I never thought that Takahashi Ryo would dare to do that to me even after I've given him a little lesson. Apparently, he still didn't get the message.'_

Someone jumped at her and Hitsugaya pulled her out of the way at the last minute. Hinamori would have reacted even if Hitsugaya didn't interfere. Her perfect assassin reflexes were completely restored. She had to be able to control her emotions even if Hitsugaya Toushirou was around. She didn't like it when a person's presence distracted her that much.

"Who is it?"

Hitsugaya's blade collided in the dark with the long and thing wakizashi of a beautiful woman. He pushed her back. The lady landed under the moonlight and her blade reflected the pure and white light. She smirked at them and ran her tongue on her lips.

_Sakuno...!_

For a second, Hitsugaya thought that Reiko had turned against him, but it wasn't her. It was another member of the Sinister Blades organization. He knew so because of the tattoo on the back of her right hand. So it was not over after all. He should have known that taking down Takahashi Ryo wasn't all.

Behind the lady was another group of people. Hinamori recognized a few of them and was extremely surprised that Sakuno had brought some of the best fighters. She smiled cruelly at them and took out a twenty centimeters long flat blade.

"You still have weapons on you?" Hitsugaya asked. "How did you hide them?"

"You're not asking a lady's secret, are you?" she answered as she got into a defensive position.

He smiled. Maybe that girl wasn't that fragile after all. Well, she had been a student from the Academy and had excellent marks back then. The Academy was a place that trained teenagers how to fight with the most dangerous opponents. If she survived that training, then she surely would be able to pull it off without dying by the blade of some beginner fighter. So, if he kept the most dangerous ones to him and Matsumoto, then she should be able to take care of the rest.

However, luck wasn't that much on his side. Matsumoto was already surrounded by five opponents and he had to face the lady who had attacked them first.

"I'm Takahashi Sakuno. It's nice to meet you, Hitsugaya Toushirou," she said as their swords collided.

"How do you know my name?"

"How can I not know the guy who almost killed my precious cousin, Ryo? By the way, did you know that he was taking care of your little friend?"

Hitsugaya turned his head around and saw that Ryo was fighting Hinamori; it was a katana against two small blades. The weapons Hinamori used couldn't even count as knives since they were simply flat blades of twenty or so centimeters with bandages on one end so that she wouldn't cut herself when she handled them.

Hinamori frowned. She had never realized how good Ryo was at swordsmanship when he was fighting seriously. "Well, if this doesn't work, then I still have Kidou."

Kidou was a special class that only the Academy offered. They taught you how to neutralize an enemy by attacking their Acupoints (acupuncture points or pressure points), how to use poison or explosives efficiently and how to use the newest technologies of the Kingdom.

With a flick of the wrist, she put one of the blades back to where it belonged and used the other one to fend off Ryo's katana attacks. Hinamori completely changed her fighting strategy. She was mainly using hand-to-hand combat instead of her swordsmanship skills. Ryo didn't let her approach him, but she was much faster than Ryo expected and successfully hit one of his pressure points. She did not hesitate for another second and twirled the small transparent flask in her hands before injecting the liquid into his neck.

She jumped back, getting some distance between them so that it would be safe for her if he still had the strength to strike. Ryo fell to his knees, but it wasn't over. Hinamori hadn't anticipated Sakuno sneaking up on her to hit her sides. She blocked it at the last minute with her small blade, but after all the ravaging blows she had exchanged with Ryo, her blade couldn't resist the incredible amount of pressure Sakuno put on it and broke. Hinamori jumped back, seeing that the situation had turned against her. She got cut by the blade.

Hitsugaya had taken over and was busying himself with two opponents: the Takahashi cousins so that Hinamori could rest a bit.

"Tche," Hinamori said as she grabbed a branch and pulled herself up.

If she was in a higher position that the others, then she definitely had the advantage. Her last resort, she had to use it if she wanted to get out of this situation alive. Three silver needles appeared between her fingers. With her sharp vision, she spotted the right targets and threw the needles all at the same time.

It all hit them.

Matsumoto was surprised to see three of her opponents fall suddenly. Three other needles were shot at Sinister Blades and Hitsugaya jumped back as some of his opponents fell when he hadn't even touched them. A few minutes later and more than half of them were down. Sakuno exchanged a glance with Ryo and they both retreated with the rest of the members. The unconscious ones were carried back.

Hinamori sighed. God, that was tough. Fighting without the proper equipment sure wasn't easy, even for an assassin like her. Not to mention that she had a long battle the day before with both Ikkaku and Yumichika. Her head was turning and she felt dizzy. That damned woman, Sakuno, probably injected poison into her when she cut her.

Hitsugaya lifted his head up as the leaves above his head rustled. He barely had time to drop his katana in the grass to catch Hinamori as she fell off from the tree.

Matsumoto checked out her pulse.

"She's breathing alright, but she had lost consciousness."

Hitsugaya kneeled down while holding her in his arms. Hinamori's eyes were closed tightly and sweat was rolling down from her forehead. Her left hand was clutching her right side tightly. When Hitsugaya took her hand off, his eyebrows furrowed together.

Her kimono was tainted with blood, crimson red blood.

He picked her up. Hinamori's body hanged lifelessly in his arms, but he knew that she was still alive from her irregular breathing and occasional wincing.

"I'm taking her back. You go on first and report to the King. I'll take a carriage. I can't afford the risk of endangering her life. She might be able to lead us to the Sinister Blades' hideout."

_'I won't use Reiko's Information Network unless there's no other way.'_

"Captain, are you sure you don't want me to take her back?" offered Matsumoto.

Hitsugaya shook his head and walked away slowly, Hinamori in his arms. Matsumoto bit her lips before leaving her Captain alone in the dark. She massaged her leg muscles before running back to the palace as fast as a lightning. She would have to report to the King without any delays.

The mysteries surrounding Hinamori had grown in numbers.

It wasn't over.

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Thirteen** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : Hitsugaya brought Hinamori into the Seireitei, the place where only the royal officers and academy students were allowed in. Shark appears again and this time, he has a message from their Master. The next part of the plan will be carried out...

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	14. The Shark: Kurosaki Ichigo

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

- The Shark: Kurosaki Ichigo -

* * *

**District 38, Rukongai, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 17th, ****Midnight**

Hitsugaya had to run through ten districts before he even found a horse.

He was sitting behind Hinamori, his arms circling her protectively. He was riding slowly, making sure that Hinamori wouldn't get a new set of injuries because she fell from a horse. It was already night, but Hitsugaya couldn't go any faster. He wouldn't go faster.

He still needed to think.

Why was Hinamori targeted by Sinister Blades? It wasn't normal for them to go throw such hardship to capture her, who was nothing more but a commoner girl. Why didn't they torture her? She didn't have any bruises on her that would justify any violent hitting or kicking. That was abnormally weird.

Hinamori wasn't the only mystery. There was also that Reiko. She couldn't believe for what reason that girl would want a partner like him. Did she plan on taking advantage of their little alliance? Did she plan on betraying his trust? Did she plan on crushing him?

There was also Rukia. That girl just popped out of nowhere and questioned him. However, he did know one thing about her: she wanted something with Orihime. Talking about Orihime, Reiko also seemed to know something about her. Could it be that the _secret_ wasn't a secret anymore?

Many more questions flowed in his mind, but he couldn't answer any of them. He didn't have a single clue what happened. He didn't even have a hypothesis forming in his head. Everything just seemed wrong.

Hinamori stirred a bit on the horse back. Hitsugaya bent forward to see if she opened her eyes, but the young girl continued to sleep. He was so close to her; their cheeks were nearly touching. Leaning back once again with a sigh, Hitsugaya soon reached the Seireitei doors, which were still open for him.

Unohana was waiting. She had a stretcher for Hinamori and carefully transported her to the medical section.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Squad 4 (Patient's Rooms), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, Morning**

The Captain of Squad Four, the medical squad, closed the door behind her without making a sound. Without turning around, she asked, "What is it?"

Hitsugaya, who had been leaning on the wall facing the room, walked toward her and asked, "How is the girl doing?"

"She's fine." Unohana sighed and turned around to look at Hitsugaya in the eye. "It was awfully hard to wake her up. And..."

"And...?"

"She seemed to have a lot of harmful substance running in her blood. There are some that I've never even seen before, so I'll have to do further tests on her to get a complete analysis and full medical profile on Hinamori Momo-san."

"Do you think that Sinister Blades poisoned her?"

"I'm not sure about that. To tell you the truth, her state is very similar to Kurotsuchi Nemu-san's."

Hitsugaya was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You know how Captain Kurotsuchi always using her as a test subject. Because of that, she has tons of random substances running in her blood. Hinamori-san doesn't have as much, but it's still a frightening amount."

"That's strange. Hinamori is a waitress. Why would she have such things in her body?"

"Is there anything at all that can relate her to something that a commoner wouldn't usually have access to?"

Hitsugaya thought for a moment, but had nothing to offer. "I simply know that she was once a student here. Maybe you can ask Abarai Renji or Kira Izuru for more information. I heard that they went to the Academy together."

Unohana smiled at him. "Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya. I'll take a look at our records."

* * *

-Toxic -

* * *

**Night Rukongai Society, ****Kuchiki ****Kingdom  
****April 18th, Morning**

A low voice called, "Shark."

A man in black robes a walked into the room and kneeled down on one knee. His master was sitting behind the curtains.

"Where is the Black Rose?"

"My partner is currently on a mission. She had successfully gained Sinister Blades' Crest and is now in Seireitei, near the Royal Palace. I heard that she was getting treatment in the Fourth Squad."

"Very well," replied the Master. "Shark, take the things that the lady from Sinister Blades have brought over and send them to your partner. She will surely need them very soon."

The raven haired girl came out from behind the black curtain and put a small bag in Shark's large hands.

He bowed and left the room. The Master then turned toward the raven haired girl.

"Carry out the next part of the plan."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Squad 4 (Patient's Rooms), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, Morning**

Hinamori's eyes shot open as Unohana left her room. She silently crept over to the door and listened to the conversation between the two captains.

She mentally cursed. That Captain was way too smart for her own good. Well, there wasn't much to worry over. She hadn't even found out half of Hinamori's secrets. They hadn't suspected anything big, which was a good thing for Hinamori. She had a mission to carry on and the fact that Hitsugaya brought her into the palace was like a blessing to her. That surely saved her a lot of time.

She sat on her bed and waited. If Sakuno had followed the instructions carefully, Shark should be with her in any moment. She had something to give to him and he better be there before Hitsugaya returned.

She was deeply meditating when a quiet knock on the door interrupted her. She snapped her head around, waiting. Three needles immediately appeared between Hinamori's fingers as she went into a defensive position. The door slowly opened.

Hinamori leaped off her bed and landed gracefully on the ground. She put her right foot on the wall so that she could push herself off and hoped that the boost of energy would be enough to dive on whoever was entering. It was a killing atmosphere.

When the door opened wide enough, Shark poked his head into the room. He looked around and found Hinamori on the floor in a low crouching position, but he also found the threatening weapons in her hand. Seeing that, he immediately threw his hands up in defense, but it was too late.

Hinamori's reaction had been immediate when the door opened. The three silver needles flew at him, barely missing his vital points. Shark crouched jumped and dodged while twisted his body in an unbelievable way to stay uninjured from Hinamori's deadly weapons.

"Watch it! I'm not your practice dummy, you know!" Shark was draped in a long black cloak, which hid his weapons. His hood was over his face, which made him unrecognizable.

Hinamori sighed when she recognized Shark's angry voice. She walked up to him without a word and retrieved her weapons. She eyed the small holes on the wall and mumbled incoherent words under her breath. The holes would have been something very suspicious to others. She walked back into the room and closed the door behind her.

"They let you in like that?" Hinamori asked as she pointed to his suspicious clothing, which were too concealing for a normal person.

"Well, they can't really question me because they don't have the right to, you know. Oh, this is from a very beautiful lady from that place you call Sinister Blades. Here you go," he said as he gave her a small bag.

The experienced assassin opened the bag and pulled out her Shinigami uniform. She made sure that Shark had his head turned around and had his eyes bandaged carefully before she undressed to change into her uniform. She put on a short kimono stopping a little above her knees. There was a split on her right side and large white sleeves reaching her elbows that allowed her to do all sorts of acrobatics. Ash grey feathers adorned the bottom of the white kimono while the top was blank with no print. Instead of the traditional obi, she had a long grey colored silky ribbon around her petite waist. The Shinigami Crest, a cross with a snake enrolled around it, was proudly stitched to her chest and both sleeves.

She clipped six brand knew knives on each side of her hip and threw away the few she had used during her escape. They were all fissured from the powerful blows she exchanged with Ryo and Sakuno. Her knives were long sharp edged blades with one side bandaged, offering her a handle. They were very effective and well maintained.

"I don't get it," Shark said after Hinamori took off his blindfold. "Why are you so into knives? You already have your katana, Tobiume. Let's not mention all those poisonous needles you carry around with you all the time. Why bother with knives?"

"If Tobiume isn't with me because some bastard knocked it out of my hands, then I'll still have a backup plan, which saved my life more than once."

"Aren't needles better? You poison them with your thing called...er...Angel's Cry?"

"Angel's Tears," corrected Hinamori as she attached her katana to her back. Its blade was long, thin and extremely sharp. "Needles are easier to carry around, that's true, but knives are a lot easier to throw. If everything's fine, I'll have enough. If I'm in trouble, I'll always have my knives to back me up."

"That's an awful lot of weapons you have there. I only need my large blade, Zangetsu."

"That's because men are always so simply minded."

"Hey, you can't have too much weight you. You told me yourself that if you have too much weight, you wouldn't be able to perform you precious Shunpo."

Hinamori frowned. Shunpo was her last resort plan (The knives are a backup plan. It's different from a last resort plan) and she never used it unless it was an emergency case.

"You do know that it's intensive training for leg muscles, do you? Muscle contractions are something that no human being can control. However, those who have mastered the art of Shunpo can control it to a certain limit. With years of practice, your legs will allow you to move faster than any normal human being because you can control those muscle contractions. You know of the consequences."

Hinamori looked at him in the eyes. "It's a lot of stress for the muscles and I probably won't be able to walk once I'm in my thirties if I continue like this. If I were you, I wouldn't try Shunpo. It's really dangerous and it might handicap you for life."

"Yeah, I know that and Master said the exact same thing. If I attempted this training, my muscles might never get used to it. It was highly possible that they end up severely damaged."

"Anyway, you're not here to chat. Let's get right down to business: your target is Inoue Orihime."

"Inoue Orihime," said Shark, rolling the name on the tip of his tongue. "Nice name..."

"Don't even _think_ about it," warned Hinamori. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Fine, fine, Hinamori-sama," replied Shark as he bowed mockingly.

"Shark..." said Hinamori, slightly irritated. She paused a bit and checked her wound. She did it regularly in case it reopened and disadvantaged her in a fight. "Anyway, as I was saying..."

"Rose, did you renew all your weapons?"

"Yes, I did. Shark, focus on our mission..."

KNOCK. KNOCK

Hinamori snapped her head around. What again?

"Hinamori, are you sleeping?"

That voice, Hinamori recognized it immediately. She knew it so badly, almost too well.

"Shark, get out of here. Go! No, not by the door, you idiot! Go by the window!" whispered Hinamori while she tried to push him out. She cleared her throat and answered in a calm voice, "Hitsugaya-san, what is it?"

"Can I come in?"

_No._

"Go ahead."

The door slowly opened and Hitsugaya entered. Two things surprised him. First, he wasn't prepared to see Hinamori wearing such clothes and with such weapons on her. Hitsugaya jumped back a little when he saw her outfit. "What happened to _you_?"

"You didn't think that I'll be wearing blood soaked clothes when I have spares, right?"

She motioned towards the small bag she carried around, which was now lying on her bed with nothing but her blood soaked working kimono in it, to emphasize the fact that everything was fine and perfectly normal. Hitsugaya looked at her from up and down. He really liked her kimono, but it was a bit short to his liking. Sure thing, it was one of those things that girls wore when they were in a fight.

"Under normal circumstances, injured people do not want to wander around too much. May I ask why you carry so many knives with you?" Hitsugaya said as he pointed to the six knives on her hips.

"It's self-defense, Hitsugaya-sama. You know that commoners like me aren't trusted in the palace so I must be extremely careful."

"Wise decision, I must admit, but I've got to say that hiding them in your sleeves might be dangerous for you if you're not careful."

"As expected from a Captain, you immediately noticed. I'll be careful, I promise. However, please don't take me lightly. I did train at the Academy."

"True," Hitsugaya said with a small smile. "And where did you get those?"

"From him," Hinamori said, pointing to a dark corner of the room. "He brought them for me."

Hitsugaya was surprised to see someone with her. Shark took off his hood. He walked towards the center of the room and greeted the Captain. The Captain greeted him back.

"Kurosaki, is it?" Hitsugaya asked after he looked at the man carefully.

"Yeah, that's me, Captain Hitsugaya."

"Do you know?"

"Yeah, I saw."

Walking rapidly towards the large windows of the room, Hitsugaya lifted up the curtains. He looked down and whispered, "This is getting worse than I thought."

Hinamori frowned. She could make out some fire sparks down there and was surprised when she took notice of the fact that the white haired captain was fully dressed and armed.

"Hitsugaya-sama, what's wrong?" Hinamori asked as she approached the window.

She looked out from the window and witnessed a bloody fight. A lot of people were injured a few walls were demolished too.

"Hitsugaya-sama...? Oh, please forgive me, I meant to say _Captain_ Hitsugaya. So, what brings you here so early in the morning?"

Hitsugaya turned around and looked down at her.

"We are under attack."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Fourteen** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : While they were in the middle of the road, some Quincy popped up and attacked them. It's up to Hinamori, who is quite good at long ranged fights, to do her thing while Histsugaya acts as their defense. Will Hinamori succeed while being burdened by her wounds from the previous fight?

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	15. A Goddess' Showdown

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

- A Goddess' Showdown -

* * *

**Squad 4 (Patient's Rooms), Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, Morning**

"What do you mean?" Hinamori asked Hitsugaya as she deeply frowned.

Shark, also known as Kurosaki Ichigo, was still watching the fight from the window. He was analyzing the opponents they were bound to face sooner or later. He hated being disadvantaged in a fight, so he will definitely find their weakness before they could find his.

Hitsugaya sighed and sat down on the small white bed furnished by the Fourth Squad. He explained with a very patient voice. "An enemy organization called _Quincy_ just broke through our defenses. Their skilled archers are killing the palace officers and destroying this place. We don't know their purpose yet."

"Woo, that sounds awful," Hinamori said after she heard of the situation. However, instead of feeling better because she was informed, she felt a lot worse. She went to stand in front of Hitsugaya and bent down until she was facing him.

He lifted an eyebrow and asked, "What?"

"Then, Captain, aren't you supposed to be leading your men out there instead of wasting your time here with us?" asked Hinamori as she pointed to Ichigo and herself.

In fact, she didn't really like the idea of dealing with a surprise attack at the moment. Her only chances of getting what she needed from the palace were slowly slipping away from her. She wasn't so sure that she could get into another situation that will permit her to get what she wanted from the mysterious palace of the Kuchiki Kingdom.

Hitsugaya raised his other eyebrow and gave her a perfectly serious look. "I'm here for _you_, of course."

Hinamori was taken back. She straightened up and pointed to herself with a very confused expression on her face. She wasn't faking anything at all; she was really surprised. "Me...? Am I so important that I get the full attention of a Captain?"

Hitsugaya didn't really know how to explain his presence. Actually, he had volunteered to take care of the 'badly injured' Hinamori Momo to safety. He ran his hand through his head and sighed. "Well, Hinamori, you _are_ the only person who survived after a small trip to the Sinister Blades' place. They might have something to do with a series of assassinations happening in the Kingdom. We want clues and you are the closest thing to a clue we have."

"A small _trip_...? As if I was having fun there, with Takahashi trying to assassinate me. And, what was the closest _thing_ supposed to mean, huh? If they haven't realized it yet, I might as well remind them that I'm just as human as everybody else," Hinamori muttered under her breath.

With a slight pout, Hinamori retorted, "Well, are we going to stay here and wait for them to break down the door or are you going to take me somewhere safe?"

Not that she was afraid of being under attack. She could easily jump down from that window and make her way out (using rooftops), but with her injury, it was better to stay cautious.

Hitsugaya was a bit surprised by her sudden change of attitude. "I was planning to take you to one of those shelters, but it's a fairly long distance from here. We still have to get out of here. I'll try to get you to Orihime's place. However, with your wound, I'm not sure we can run that much. "

_'What? Watch what you're saying! I bet that I can run faster and further than you can,"_ Hinamori thought to herself.

She chased those thoughts away and said with a smile, "Don't worry about me." She turned towards Ichigo and said, "Kurosaki Ichigo, quit watching the show down there or we're leaving without you!"

Ichigo gave the fighters down there one last look before walking out of the door. He gave Hinamori and Hitsugaya one last glance and left. "Guys, I'm going on first"

Hitsugaya called, but it was too late. "That idiot..."

Hitsugaya followed after him and called out, "What? Hey!" But it was too late to stop Ichigo.

He sighed and waited for Hinamori to exit the room so that he could lock the door. Hinamori calmly walked toward the back of her door where her cloak laid. In a swift movement, she draped it around her shoulders, the hood automatically falling on her head. Then, she picked up her sword from the floor. A long silver chain with a small black pearl was dangling on one end.

"You can use a sword too?" asked Hitsugaya once he closed the door behind them.

"It's a gift from Urahara-san, so I carry it around with me all the time," answered Hinamori. "Well, let's just say that I remember all the things that the Academy taught me and it'll be a good occasion to test my skills, right?"

Hitsugaya found it odd that someone like Hinamori could master so many weapons. Knives were quite common among people in the Rukongai and small weapons like daggers, short swords, blades and darts could be seen on most men's belt (some women also carried a weapon with them, but it was a rare case). But for one to have so many (and to know how to use them) was unusual, especially for a girl, even if she went to the Academy before.

Well, Renji did tell him that Hinamori was scarily skilled with weapons and Kidou back when they were together in the Academy. He just hoped that she was the reckless type who would jump into a fight because they knew a few basic defensive moves.

Seeing his perplexity, Hinamori quickly explained. "Hitsugaya-sama, are you worried about the level of my fighting skills? Well, you know, Urahara-san did teach me a few things when I was working at the tea house. He always believed that all girls should learn how to fight so that men won't dare to come and bother us. So, I'm not as rusted as you think."

"Very wise of Urahara-san, indeed, but somewhat surprising coming from him," said Hitsugaya as he remembered the blond haired man who had a great sense of humor and rarely acted like a shop owner.

With Tobiume in one hand, the young assassin ran after Hitsugaya and into the danger waiting for her.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

"Hinamori, are you keeping up?" asked Hitsugaya.

He occasionally glanced back to make sure that Hinamori was still with him. She always did and didn't seem to have any difficulties keeping up with his pace. She was running a bit behind so that she could watch their backs.

They crossed the path of different soldiers and all of them paused to salute Hitsugaya before reporting the current situation. Hitsugaya would give them new orders or give them new messages to spread around, depending on how the situation had progressed. There were a lot of noises around them, making their progress quite easy since they didn't need to hide their footsteps. Everything was muffled by the shouts and screams of different parties.

"I'm still here," whispered Hinamori. She switched hands, throwing her sword to her left hand to let her other one rest a bit from gripping Tobiume.

A few more seconds passed by and Hitsugaya abruptly turned his head around. His eyes narrowed. They were near one of those large training fields inside of the Seireitei, the Capital of Kuchiki Kingdom, but also the residence of the many soldiers from the Thirteen Squads and the numerous students at the Academy.

"Hinamori, can you fight?" asked Hitsugaya as he slowed down his pace.

"I manage," answered the girl as she slowly down her speed to match his. "I'm not as great as Abarai-kun or Kira-kun, but I won't be defeated easily either."

All her responses and answers were vague, but true. Somehow, she found it hard to lie to him. It was as if her consciousness forbade her to lie. She was confused as to why Hitsugaya seemed to have a certain influence on her and hated the fact that she was unable to overcome it. As an assassin, all obstacles had to be cleared. Will she have the heart to eliminate him?

They walked down a long flight of stairs to end up in the large training field. 'Field' wouldn't be the right word to describe it. It was a large square paved with cement. Tall buildings surrounded the place. The shouts and screams were nothing but distant sounds from there and all had been quieted down suddenly.

Hitsugaya came to a halt and Hinamori followed suit. He put a finger to his lips to tell her to stay quiet, but he knew that it was a futile thing to do. He had observed Hinamori during their run and it was hard to miss the fact that she was extremely quiet when she was on the move, her footsteps as soft as the ones of a hunting feline. The Academy's harsh training must have left a huge impression on her even after she quitted.

Hitsugaya was already back. He went to check out their surroundings to see where the enemy was hidden. His lips barely moving, he whispered, "Can you hear that?"

Anyone could decipher a faint sound, but only those who have been under some training would have recognized it. "Footsteps..."

Hitsugaya smiled a bit. "You are correct. I'd say that there are about ten of them. No, to be exact, there are twelve, five men and seven women. There are somewhere in this training field."

Hinamori nodded, "As expected from a Captain."

Hitsugaya continued speaking with Hinamori, hoping to convince her that she could just stay there and watch instead of participating in such a dangerous fight. "This is a battlefield. Use everything you've learned so far either with the Academy or with Urahara-san. It's not the time to play heroes; don't fight opponents when you clearly have absolutely no chance against them."

"Yes, of course," answered Hinamori.

She wasn't supposed to sound like she had incredible knowledge in fighting. Hinamori did not forget that in Hitsugaya's eye, she was simply a tea brewer who knew a few self-defense moves, nothing more. She also had to pay attention to her injury, which was quite a deep cut on her right side. Thanks to the army's incredibly talented health staff, Hinamori's wound received one of the best treatments. The girl was confident with her skills, but she was still handicapped. She must be careful; she couldn't afford a careless move.

"_Quincy_ is an organization of archers. A _Quincy_ will never use another weapon other than a bow and an arrow, but you must be careful. Some might be strong in hand-to-hand combat too."

"Then, if there is literally an ambush waiting for us, why are we still going there? Isn't there another way to get to that Orihime-san person's place?"

"Well, I can't guaranty that the other routes will be any safer. Even if it is morning, we don't have the time we need. I have to get you to Orihime's place as soon as possible. With her, you'll be safe and once you're safe, I'll end this ridiculous attack with my men."

"Okay, then let's go," Hinamori said as she got her katana ready.

"Let's run as fast as we can. If we can get through without having to stop, then it's best."

Hitsugaya took off first and Hinamori followed right after him. At first, he wasn't going as fast as he usual was, but when he realized that Hinamori had no problem keeping up, he increased his speed until both of them were nothing but a blur to those near them. They haven't even run through the quarter of the field that a first arrow shot towards them without warning. Hitsugaya immediately jumped in front of Hinamori and knocked it off with his sword, a long katana with a dragon head at the end of the hilt.

Hinamori kept running without unsheathing Tobiume yet and tightened her grip on the sword. She left Hitsugaya behind her, knowing that she would only get in his way. Anyway, there was no point getting out her katana at the moment since there was nothing to attack because the _Quincy_ archers were hidden in advantageous positions. It was like an ambush and they were the ones in the trap.

"We are at a disadvantage," Hitsugaya said as he derived another arrow while keeping up with running a bit behind Hinamori. "They are keeping their distances from us, but we don't have weapons for a long ranged fight."

Hinamori smirked. She clipped Tobiume to her back so that both of her hands would be free. Three needles appeared in each hand. She gave a circular scan around her while keeping up her speed. She threw all six needles at the same time; six people fell from their hiding spot and fell down.

"Tche, Hinamori, why didn't you use that in the first place?" Hitsugaya asked as he derived another three arrows.

An arrow shot at Hinamori. She jumped out of the way gracefully and landed beside Hitsugaya. She had stopped running just like Hitsugaya. There was little point to continue running since they were constantly intercepted. It would be easier to eliminate them first and then, keep on going. Hinamori large cloak was floating behind her gracefully in synch with al her moves. With a jump to the right and another to the left, Hinamori's wound started to reopen. When she ducked, pain shot through her body.

Hitsugaya, being a responsible Captain, always kept an eye on Hinamori. He did not miss the pain in her eyes nor did he dismiss the fact that her left hand often went to clutch her right side.

_'I have to bluff,'_ thought Hinamori when she felt another wave of pain. _'I can't let the enemy know that I am in a disadvantageous position.'_

Hinamori discreetly threw a black iron dart to knock off three arrows coming her way, one after the other with the same shot from the same dart. It would have been a success if she hadn't miscalculated her shot by forgetting that the arrows that the _Quincy_ shot at her were bound to be a bit special since they were experts at archery. One of the arrows hadn't been knocked off with enough strength and barely missed her.

"Hinamori, are you hurt?" said Hitsugaya in a concerned voice. He had immediately noticed Hinamori's unstable condition and took note of her slight winces.

"Lovely..." she muttered as she glared angrily at the arrow that barely missed her. She stood up and shot herself with a small flask of diluted painkillers without hesitating another second.

Hitsugaya was surprised when she injected a transparent liquid into herself without even blinking.

"No, I'm fine, Hitsugaya-sama. Let's hurry up and finish them so that we can move on."

Hinamori dodged an arrow while she shot another dart. Three other needles were shot out, eliminating three other archers.

"You are right," said Hitsugaya as he jumped out of the way of two arrows while he knocked off three others aiming at his vital points.

While Hinamori was attacking, Hitsugaya made sure to watch her back this time. Since he didn't have any projectile to throw, he could only act as defense for both of them while Hinamori was doing all the offense. However, Hinamori clearly didn't have an infinity amount of needles and darts and she would need them later on too, so Hitsugaya shouldn't be counting on that. Hitsugaya was hesitating whether they should just keep running or use this opportunity to stop the intruders. Before he could decide on the wisest decision, it seemed that someone was interfering with the fight.

Hinamori and Hitsugaya snapped their heads around sharply when they heard many screams around them. Hinamori took a step closer to Hitsugaya just for safety and glanced at Hitsugaya beside her. He had also positioned himself, ready. It wasn't long before bodies covered in blood soaked uniforms were thrown down.

Someone jumped down and landed soundlessly in front of them.

"We meet again."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Fifteen** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : They are finally at Orihime's place. However, are they really safe from the danger of the Quincy? Little do they know that the Quincy also have their own trackers and they want more than just the destruction of Seireitei.

* * *

Please **R**ead and **R**eview!!

**-xox- Snow Wing -xox-**


	16. ORI HIME equals to ORI PRINCESS

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

- ORI HIME equals to ORI PRINCESS -

* * *

**Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, Morning**

It was a war in Seireitei.

It was the _Quincy_ against the royal troupes. They attacked everyone and that included the students at the academy, the new officers who weren't used to fighting yet and Hinamori Momo. It was something that had to end so that the peace might be restored.

They, the Gotei 13, will end this.

Hitsugaya, the only Gotei 13 member not accompanying his troupes, was escorting Hinamori to a safer place. Someone surprisingly interfered in the small fight with the Quincy. A surprised look crossed Hinamori's face once she heard the interferer's voice. She let the cloak fall around her and let the hood cover her face. She hadn't seen the person yet since she was facing the other side, but she knew that voice well enough to identify it.

Hitsugaya lowered his blade and sheathed it, knowing that all archers were out of the fight when he saw Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Hello again," Ichigo said as he put his large blade on his shoulders. "Are you guys hurt?"

"I'm fine, but it seems that Hinamori's wound reopened," said Hitsugaya as he pointed towards the girl.

Ichigo's head whipped around. He gave her a look when their eyes met and asked, "Are you alright?"

Hinamori took a few steps carefully, hopping that she didn't damage anything else. She dusted herself and answered, "It's nothing big. I've shot myself with anesthetics too, so I won't feel the pain for the next thirty minutes."

Light footsteps sounded in the empty training field. As the other person approached, Hitsugaya's hands went to clutch his katana. However, he quickly realized that the newcomer was no threat.

It was Reiko. She was in another one of her noble lady kimonos. Everyone knew that fighting in those would be something close to suicide. Concern flashed into Reiko's eyes for a split second once she saw Hinamori injured. The concern disappeared as soon as it came and the arrogance in Reiko's tone returned. "So you survived the attack. Well, it's not like it'll change anything."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," said Hinamori sarcastically.

"Do you really think that now is the time to joke around?" asked Ichigo as he stared at the two disbelievingly. "You girls can fight all you want when this battle is over."

Suddenly, Hitsugaya's eyes became suspicious. He blinked a few times before he was sure of what he was seeing. "You're Suzuki Reiko, aren't you?" Hitsugaya said as he looked at the small girl.

"Nice to see you again, _Captain_."

"Why are you here? You're not supposed to be in Seireitei."

"True," replied Reiko. "I know that the Seireitei doors are only open to those who are from the royal palace. Don't worry; I'm here with Kurosaki. He needed to take some things and I followed because I didn't feel like waiting outside. You know, he's the type of guy who would stop whenever he spots a beauty and I didn't want to wait for nothing. Even so, I still managed to lose him for thirty minutes and he refuses to tell where he went."

"I didn't know that Ichigo was the player type," Hinamori said. "You should definitely not be cheating on Rukia. I heard that she was quite scary when she was angry."

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed at the name _Rukia_.

"I'm not _cheating_," Ichigo protested. "Anyway, Rukia and I aren't into that kind of relationship."

"I heard otherwise..." Reiko said as she opened her fan and put it in front of her face to hide her smile.

Hitsugaya cleared his throat. "We should get going. Orihime's place isn't very far. Let's get there as soon as possible," he said as he watched Reiko's reaction.

He knew that she knew many things about Orihime thanks for her information network. Hitsugaya wondered just how much she knew exactly. Reiko's expression hadn't changed at all. Either she wasn't affected; either she was a really good actress. Hitsugaya stared a few extra seconds and took off first.

Hinamori followed suit. Reiko, who had admitted that she didn't know how to fight, wasn't a slow runner either. The small Captain was going much slower than before, but Hinamori insisted that she was fine. Hitsugaya finally gave in and picked up his pace, but he always kept an eye on her just in case she collapsed.

"Who is this Orihime person we are going to see?" she asked as she ran beside him.

"She's a medic. Her name is Inoue Orihime."

The name hit Hinamori like a slap. So that Orihime person was _Inoue_ Orihime? She knew who Inoue Orihime was. Of course she did. Not only did she have her reliable sources (both inside and outside of the palace), but she also heard some things from Matsumoto. She could conclude from everything that she had heard so far that Orihime was the one who had been affected by _that_.

All her sources had been positive that Orihime was a victim. However, she didn't understand the reason. There was no point for _them_ to target her. There was one possibility, but it sounded absurd. Orihime couldn't possibly be the one Hinamori had been looking for. She couldn't possibly be the one. She couldn't possibly be the reason behind the _Quincy__'s_ attack. However, if she was the one Hinamori had been looking and searching for, everything would make complete sense. As the Black Rose of Shinigami, Orihime was an important piece in her mission (if she was the rumored one). She _must_ be sure of her identity for her mission to be a success.

Since Hitsugaya was bringing them there, it was her chance to find out. As soon as Hitsugaya had said Orihime's full name, a plan started to take shape in Hinamori's head. She gave Ichigo a look and he nodded back at her. The Black Rose of Shinigami had planned to check on Orihime from the very beginning after she heard about her state from Matsumoto, but all the times she sneaked into Seireitei to familiarize with the territory or to steal information, she did not get the chance to meet Orihime.

But that day was her chance; it was Shinigami's chance.

It was the moment of truth.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, ****Noon**

"I've found her," said a masculine voice.

"We need to bring her back as soon as possible," his companion said. "She must take over her brother's reign. His majesty would be replaced by another if she doesn't come back soon."

"I know that. She will be saved today," the archer said as he pushed up his glasses. "As the second in command of Quincy, I will be the one saving her."

"Are you sure you're not just talking big, Ishida?"

"Have I ever denied my words?"

He looked down once again at the old abandoned house. It looked quite ancient, but it was still in good shape.

"I'm surprised that they've been keeping our princess locked up in such a place. Well, it won't be long before she returns as our rightful Queen."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, ****Noon**

Hitsugaya stopped in front of a deserted old compound, like one of those ancient Japanese houses. It was a section of the old Seireitei that the King did not renovate yet. A heavy silenced weighted upon the place.

"Orihime, are you there?" Hitsugaya called out softly.

_'Orihime...? He calls her by her given name? Are they that close?'_ wondered Hinamori.

A long silence greeted his call. Reiko slowly walked around while checking on the walls. She examined the material used and the way the house was built. With her sensitive fingers, she could pick up small details other people would miss.

"This house has been built over three hundred years ago. If my memory hasn't failed me, I think that it was originally built to lock up members of the royal family who had made an inexcusable offense."

All eyes were set on her. The blond, with her hair up in a noble ladylike fashion, was the spitting image of a rich family's knowledgeable daughter. She looked so much like one of those perfectly raised girls with her small fan and her large kimono and all those jewelries in her hair. If Hinamori wasn't mistaking, she did remember that Reiko's family had a successful business running.

"How do you know?" Ichigo asked. He wasn't used to Reiko being all smart. The few times he have met her, it was to collect information for Shinigami. "Did one of your spies whisper all this to you?"

Hitsugaya frowned. Well, apparently, he wasn't the only one who knew of her information network.

"How dare you, Kurosaki?!"

Hitsugaya wondered if she got paid for giving out information. Well, if she did, then she was bound to be rich because he knew for one thing that her information network was indeed very accurate, not to mention that all the information she gave out was of extreme value. Hitsugaya hesitated if he should ask her about Shinigami. He was sure that she knew a whole lot more than any of the Gotei 13 officers, but he was also sure that Reiko would be able to pick up a few details that Hitsugaya didn't necessarily want her to know.

Ever since Gin had brought up the matter, Orihime had been afraid of the Third Squad Captain. No one could blame her; meeting the eyes of Gin was bound to be something frightening. Ever since then, Orihime had refused to say anything about Shinigami, completely denying the fact that she knew more.

"Hush," Hinamori said as she turned around.

Faint footsteps could be heard behind them. With the flick of a wrist, a knife appeared in Hinamori's right hand. She saw a dark silhouette five meters away from her in an offensive position. A long spear was in one of its hands. Hinamori lifted her arm, ready to strike if the person attacked, but Hitsugaya stopped her by grabbing her wrist firmly.

Hinamori turned toward him, puzzled. Hitsugaya ignored her questioning look and slowly walked toward the dark form.

"Toushirou-san...?" said a small voice full of uncertainties.

As soon as those words left her lips, the person collapsed into Hitsugaya's arms. The young Captain frowned as he recognized Orihime. What had happened to her? She wasn't supposed to be in this state, not after what he had given her not ten days ago. Well, that was unless she didn't use it or...

He checked her pulse; it was regular. He also checked her breathing, which seemed pretty normal. She wasn't having any difficulties breathing and her heart beat was stable. However, when he tilted her so that it rested on his shoulder while he carried her into the old compound, Hinamori let out a gasp.

"Hitsugaya-sama, look at that purple bruise on her neck!" she said as she ran over to them.

Hitsugaya looked down at where she was pointing and his eyes widened. The day he had feared, did it finally come? If that was the case, then they had to hurry. If Orihime doesn't get _it_ soon, she will die for sure. He was stupefied and stood there, at the entrance to the compound, completely frozen.

"Hitsugaya-sama," Hinamori called. "Get a grip of yourself. We have to treat her."

Seeing the situation, all four of them had their doubts completely whipped out. The Black Rose of Shinigami (Hinamori Momo) and Shark (Kurosaki Ichigo), both of them were sure of one thing: Inoue Orihime was their long lost target. Suzuki Reiko's doubts have also been confirmed. She has always kept an eye on Inoue Orihime and had never known for sure if Orihime was really the one Reiko thought she was. As for Hitsugaya, he was sure that she will die.

Seeing that Hitsugaya wasn't moving, Hinamori gritted her teeth and mumbled, "I'm sorry."

She slapped him really, really hard.

Hitsugaya's head snapped in synch with Hinamori's slap. He stared back at her blankly, not even feeling the pain. Reiko gasped and wanted to kill Hinamori at that particular moment for slapping her dearest Hitsugaya-kun, but Ichigo held her back, telling her firmly not to interfere.

"Ichigo, you take over," Hinamori said as she watched Hitsugaya's stunned form. "Bring Inoue Orihime into the compound, preferably into one of the bedrooms. This is a critical situation; you better not fail."

Ichigo obeyed without protesting. He went over to Hitsugaya and gently took Orihime's small body from him. Hitsugaya reached out for Orihime once he felt that she was gone, but Hinamori took his hand instead and pulled him with her. With a steady pace, she led him into the compound, following closely behind Ichigo. She wasn't about to let Hitsugaya get all emotional and ruin Orihime's life.

Once in the compound, Hinamori gave Ichigo and Reiko short instructions. She used her eyes and silently warned Reiko not to screw up or else, she will make her pay the mercenary way. Hinamori also told Ichigo to wait after everything was done. Once the two were busy executing her orders, Hinamori brought Hitsugaya outside and found a large bucket. She filled it with freezing well water and dumped the whole content on Hitsugaya harshly.

That woke him up.

He shook his head and blinked. "Hinamori, what are you doing with a bucket? And why am I all wet?"

Hinamori smiled at that and sat down on a large rock, sighing in relief. "Well, Hitsugaya-sama, you are finally awake. I don't know what you were daydreaming about, but I can assure you that now is hardly the time for it. I will check on Orihime's state and help her as much as I can. So, please don't give up. There is always hope for her."

Hitsugaya stared at her. She was right. Orihime may not have to die. He took a deep breath and composed himself. In matter of seconds, the Captain of Tenth Squad, Hitsugaya Toushirou was back.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Old Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, ****Noon**

"Hitsugaya-sama, she has been poisoned," Hinamori concluded after she checked Orihime's wrists and neck, where the biggest arteries were.

She could almost see the flux of poison running through her veins. If they didn't act quickly, the next thing that the poison will attack will be her nerves while completely destroying her nervous system. She will in excruciating pain and she would possibly die of it. Hinamori didn't say so since she didn't want to worry Hitsugaya any further.

Hitsugaya sat down with a towel around his neck, sighing deeply.

"I know that only too well."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Sixteen** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : Hinamori will try and heal Orihime. Of course, Hitsugaya will help. It was the perfect time to test out his skills. No pressure, Captain, the only consequence will be Orihime's death.

"Hitsugaya-sama, are you good in Kidou?"

"I'm not bad at it."

"Good," Hinamori said. "Because Orihime-san's life is currently in your hands."

He gulped. How long will it be before the secret of Orihime will be uncovered?

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


	17. The Truth Uncovered

**Before you read...**

**Some of you might want to go back and read the last few chapters before you actually start reading this one. I know that it's been a long time since I've updated, so I bet that most of you have already forgotten about T O X I C. I'm sorry about that, but from now on, I will have a much more regular updating schedule. The plot is a lot clearer in my head now, so the story should be flowing out without any interference. Thanks for sticking with me...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

- The Truth Uncovered-

* * *

**Old Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, Afternoon**

"This is the best that I can do."

"Thanks, Hinamori. You were of a great help."

Orihime was resting on her bed with a small towel on her forehead. It was a critical situation and Hinamori didn't even bother to hide the fact that she was way more knowledgeable that she should have been. She had injected two to three substances in Orihime's body without even blinking. The girl's state had been stabled for the moment, but there was much more to do if they wanted Orihime to live.

Reiko and Ichigo already knew how powerful Hinamori could be when she was serious, but Hitsugaya had no clue what the girl was really capable of. If he was a threat to the secret of the Black Rose of Shinigami, then she'll just have to kill him later on when Orihime was feeling better.

Ichigo went outside to join Reiko who was assigning a few of her men to guard the doors in case _Quincy_ decided to drop by for a visit. He knew that he'll simply get in the way if he stayed any longer.

"Hitsugaya-sama, are you good in Kidou?"

Kidou was a special class that only the Academy offered. They taught you how to neutralize an enemy by attacking their Acupoints (acupuncture points or pressure points), how to use poison or explosives efficiently during a fight without bombing yourself and how to use the newest technologies of the Kingdom.

"I'm not bad at it. I mean, all Captains have to be able to master all the subjects they taught you at the Academy and Kidou is part of it."

"Good," Hinamori said. "I'll need your help for this one. It's a technique I've learned on my own, but you need two people to do it."

Hitsugaya kneeled beside Orihime's bed while Hinamori explained.

"Once I've injected this into her body," Hinamori said as she showed him a bloody red liquid, "there will be two pressure points we'll have to block within the next nine seconds. However, we'll have to do it at the same time or else, I won't guaranty her life. This is a temporary antidote, but we'll have to renew the dose every two weeks. Are you ready?"

Hitsugaya nodded. Hinamori told him which acupuncture point it was and he quickly found it. It was a good thing that he wasn't bad in this thing or else, who knew what would have happened to Orihime's life?

The operation was a success because both of them knew quite a lot about Kidou.

While Hinamori put back everything, Hitsugaya asked her, "Are you feeling alright? It must be hard on you. You have to help the injured while you're injured yourself.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Hitsugaya frowned. What a bad lie; he could see that she was wincing whenever she bent down to get something. True, the bleeding did stop, but the pain was still there. "That's a pretty bad wound you've got there."

"Hitsugaya-sama, please stop worrying about me. I'm not going to die this easily. Inoue Orihime-san is a greater priority."

"Right," said Hitsugaya. He fell silent for a moment before he looked back into Hinamori's eyes, his look extremely serious. He had his doubts when he first saw her fight and wanted to know the truth. "Who are you exactly?"

Hinamori stopped shuffling through Orihime's medicinal herbs. "What do you mean?"

Hitsugaya looked away, "Well, doesn't it sound all too nice? While fighting the Quincy, we needed long ranged weapons. Poof, you come out with your needles and iron darts and you were able to take down a fully trained archer with one single shot. I bet you targeted their pressure points."

He stopped and gestured toward Orihime, "Then, we need a healer and you come out with all your skills as a medic as if you've been doing this all your life. Seriously, Hinamori, I don't believe that the Academy taught this much."

"Didn't I tell you that I've had occasional lessons with Urahara-san?" Hinamori said, hoping that her voice didn't sound too cold.

"Right, you said that, but I don't suppose Urahara would let girls without so much fighting experience walk around with knives strapped to their thigh. You know it as well as I do that it's the safest but also most dangerous place to place a sharp weapon."

Hinamori almost raised her eyebrows in surprise. Hitsugaya did seem very knowledgeable in weapons, but she never thought that he would also know the 'female ways' of transporting a weapon. It was safe because it was close to the body which made it easy to reach, but it was also dangerous because it might cut the flesh easily if the straps were wrong or if the carrier did a wrong move.

"How did you know that?"

He cleared his throat when he saw Hinamori's questioning look and said, "Look, I just felt something hard and flat when I lifted you out of the way of an arrow. I didn't mean any sexual harassment."

He wasn't blushing, but he was uncomfortable. Hinamori mentally cheered. At least, that made him forget to interrogate her further more about her skills and other things he might be suspecting. She was afraid of how much he knew about Shinigami and how much more he was about to discover if she did one single false move.

To change subject, she asked, "Do you have any idea why _Quincy_ is attacking us?"

"Well, _Quincy_ never liked the palace. They are always in conflict with the King and are imposing great problems to the populations. They used to be a part of the royal army forces, but they didn't capture the criminals they were to track down. Instead of keeping them alive so that we could investigate further, they were slaughtering them barbarically. Sometimes, innocent people were also dragged into the mess."

"That is horrible, indeed. I bet the King didn't want some idiots to ruin his reputation and banned them."

"Yeah, that was exactly what happened. Honestly, I wasn't suspecting anything from them. _Quincy_ was supposedly exterminated for their barbaric ways of dealings things. I remember that they were exterminated ten years ago."

"Then, how would you explain their comeback?"

"Well, it seems that these archers are just as good as the ones who had been admitted in the army, if not better in skill. I was surprised when I heard that we were under attack."

"I wonder where they are from..." said Hinamori quietly.

"The truth is that everything is happening at the same time. Just a few weeks ago, we Captains had nothing better to do except for paperwork. Now, criminals are dying or captured when the army has not even lifted a pinky, rogues are appearing here and there, powerful organizations are suddenly showing their faces and there is a lot more conflict in the Night Rukongai Society than ever."

_'Well, Shinigami does play a huge part in all this,'_ Hinamori thought.

"So many is happening at the same time," Hitsugaya said as he fidgeted with his sword. "I have an important case that is far from finished and now, this war pops out of nowhere."

Hinamori was about to offer some nice words of sympathy, but suddenly, an arrow shot into the room through the open window. The door burst open immediately and Ichigo jumped into the room, checking if anyone was hurt. After a few seconds of silence, Hitsugaya let go of his sword and spoke in a calm voice, "Next time something shots through the door, Kurosaki, you are responsible."

"Sorry, didn't see that one coming," said Ichigo sheepishly before returning outside.

Hinamori slowly walked over to the arrow. There was nothing on the arrow, except for a small message. She carefully took the note and unfolded it. "We want our princess back."

"What?" Hitsugaya asked as he spun around to face her, alerted.

"This is what the note says," replied Hinamori innocently.

"You know how to read?"

Hinamori looked offended for a moment. "Hitsugaya-sama, I've had some education, you know! I do live in the fifth district, not the fifty-fifth."

"Right, I'm sorry."

It was stupid of him to think that Hinamori was uneducated. Of course, she must have had some basic schooling. She was an Academy student after all. He took the note from her and read it again, to make sure that there wasn't any hidden code. He eyes immediately landed on Orihime who was lying in front of him before turning his head in the opposite direction to stare at the door. Her harsh breathing has calmed down and she was sleeping like a baby. It was a good thing because she had lost a lot of energy and needed to rebuild her strength. Her cheeks have regained their colors and she looked more alive than before.

_'It worked. I'm surprised that she recovers this quickly. According to her notes, she wasn't far from the real antidote. I must say I am amazed,'_ thought the Black Rose of Shinigami.

While working on saving Orihime, she had come across some notes. The young medic had tried to figure out her own antidote, but the concoction wasn't perfect. However, it was extremely close, which was probably the reason as to why she was still alive.

"I didn't know that the Quincy had a princess. I didn't even know that the Quincy was part of one of the Four Kingdoms. I thought that only the head of each Kingdom could be called Royalty."

Hitsugaya looked at Hinamori and studied her intently. He hadn't paid much attention until now and he had never realized how intelligent her speech always was. Every single thing she said always made sense, not like some gossip based on rumors.

"I didn't know that you knew about the hierarchy of the Kingdoms this well."

"I have to know the basics. I don't want to sound stupid if ever a customer wants to strike a conversation with me."

"Of course not," replied Hitsugaya.

"Why would they do this?" asked Hinamori suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Why would they send the message here? I don't suppose they shot an arrow in every single room of the palace to spread the message. If they send a message in this abandoned part of the palace, it must mean that something in this room links us to what they are searching."

"Cleaver girl," murmured Hitsugaya.

"Thank you," replied Hinamori.

Then, she suddenly turned towards Hitsugaya. She walked towards him in slow predatory strides. The Captain was surprised by her sudden approach, but he didn't budge. Hinamori stopped right in front of him and looked at him in the eye. "You know something about this, don't you?"

Hitsugaya ran his hand through his hair and looked around, refusing to meet Hinamori's eyes. "What are you talking about, Hinamori?"

Hinamori glared at him accusingly. "You know who this princess is, don't you?"

Hitsugaya stared at her disbelievingly. He had never been a good liar. He wasn't to be blamed; the Academy never taught them how to lie since lying wasn't needed on a battlefield.

"It has to be you!" Hinamori said after literally exploding. "Either you know something about the said Princess or Inoue Orihime is directly linked to the issue. Is she the one who is hiding the princess? Is she some relative to the princess? Is she pretending to be the lost princess while the real one isn't alive anymore? Is she the princess herself?"

Hitsugaya was taken back by Hinamori's deductions. It made perfect sense and it was dangerously close to the truth. However, Hitsugaya was never going to admit that. "How do you know that you are not the one they are looking for?"

Hinamori stumbled back. "Me? Please stop kidding."

Of course Hinamori wasn't the Princess. Hinamori knew that Hitsugaya was only blaming it on her so that they could divert the conversation from the crucial point.

"Well, how are we supposed to know that you are not Royalty? Maybe you are simply hiding in the Kuchiki Kingdom and now, the Quincy is claiming you back. Come on; show me your left shoulder. The Royalty Mark is always tattooed there."

Hitsugaya grabbed Hinamori's left wrist and forced her to face him. He wanted to push her sleeves up until he could see her left shoulder where the Royal Mark should have been. With a swift move of his hands, he unclipped her cloak. It dropped to the floor in a small puddle around her feet. He was already pushing up her sleeves, but something else caught his attention. He saw the Shinigami Crest stitched on her chest and it stunned him. He stared up at her in shock.

"That Crest… "

Hinamori pushed his hand off her wrist. She flipped in the air and leaped back while throwing her cloak on. She stopped at the door and let her cloak fall around her with the hood automatically covering her face. Her assassin's aura was back and it gave her a sinister look. Her emotionless cold voice said softly, "I didn't know that you would recognize my Crest."

Hitsugaya was taken back for the first two seconds, but quickly composed himself. He reached for his katana and asked, "Who are you? By wearing that Crest, could it be that you're…"

"Exactly," spat Hinamori. "All who bears a Crest is a mercenary in the Night Rukongai Society."

Hitsugaya could only stare at her. With a flick of her wrist, two blades appeared in her hands.

"Since you saw that, there is no use to hide this fighting skill then. Fighting and violence are in my blood. The Night Rukongai Society is a place where power is above all. Power means everything."

Hitsugaya was in shock. Normally, he would have been composed and would have kept his cool, but too many things had happened at the same time. First of all, he discovered that the Quincy was attacking the Seireitei. Then, Hinamori popped up as an excellently trained fighter. Then, Kurosaki Ichigo, the son of a reputed ex-Captain showed up and happened to be acquainted to Suzuki Reiko and Rukia, who both were still mysteries to him. Even an excellent Captain like him would have been overwhelmed.

However, that wasn't all. There was Inoue Orihime's problem and it just happened at the worst moment ever. While he was panicking, trying to find a way to save her while keeping the secret that he was hidding from the world, the three people with him just happened to already know everything. That also threw his heart into chaos. If they knew, how many more people knew about it? Just when he was desperately trying to find a solution, the multitasking Hinamori showed up again and helped him heal Orihime with something totally suspicious.

With that many things happening, anyone was bound to lose their heads.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou-sama," Hinamori said as flipped the two blades in her hands. "If you let any of this out of this room, I swear that I will kill you."

Hitsugaya could only nod, overwhelmed by all the information he acquired in such a short time. He knew that as a royal officer, not to mention as a Captain, he had to give out the valuable information he had just learnt. However, he knew that if he let out words about Hinamori and everything that had just happened, Orihime's secret wouldn't be a secret anymore either. Hinamori was smart; she was using the fact that he also had to keep a secret against him.

While he was still pondering, trying to find a good way out of all this mess, Hinamori pushed up the sleeping medic's left sleeve. What she saw only confirmed her last doubts.

"I knew it."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Seventeen** is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : The Quincy have a representative. That guy will try to smooth things out. He knew that violence near their beloved princess would not be a beneficial thing for anybody.

The Quincy stopped a few meters away from the old compound and put his bow and arrows on the ground, demanding for a right to speak before Ichigo killed him.

"You want to talk?" Ichigo said as he picked up his large blade that was resting on the wall beside him. "I don't remember ever discussing anything before you guys attacked us. So what makes you think that we will let you talk?"

Hinamori was also coming out in her black cloak that radiated deadly vibes. Her message to the Quincy was perfectly clear: you mess up and you die.

* * *

Please **R**ead and **R**eview!!

**-xox- Snow Wing -xox-**


	18. War Invitation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

- War Invitation -

* * *

**Old Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, Afternoon**

The heavy silence weighted down on Hitsugaya and Hinamori.

The young assassin didn't say a word and threw them, her two sharp and deadly blades. It was a real surprise to Hitsugaya when the two blades flew outside threw the large open window instead of targeting him. There was two unified screams outside as the blade stuck into flesh. Two bodies fell from their hiding places, which were situated on the top of the long walls surrounding the compound.

It took Hitsugaya no more than a second to step out and landed near the two men who had fallen. They were wearing a ceremonial white uniform, symbolic of the Quincy, and a flood of fresh red blood was pouring out abundantly.

Hitsugaya took a deep breath and did his best to organize the huge amount of information he recently collected from different sources that he judged valuable and accurate. There were too many things happening at the same time, but he had to clear his head if he wanted to understand everything and if he wanted to get out of this mess alive. After a few seconds, he was back in shape. It wasn't the time to be worrying about frivolous things.

It was best to whip out the Quincy Organization before he settled for a small chat with Hinamori.

A man clad in white with turquoise stripes slowly walked toward them. Ichigo was leaning with boredom on the walls at the entrance while watching closely the new coming Quincy archer slowly approaching them. He was ready to intercept him if it was necessary. The Black Rose of Shinigami had important things to take care of inside with Hitsugaya Toushirou; it wasn't the right time for him to interrupt.

Hitsugaya and Hinamori were still inside treating Orihime, or so it seemed. Ichigo had no clue that the two were currently in the middle of a silent fight, each watching for the other's slightest move.

The Quincy stopped a few meters away from the old compound and dropped his bow and arrows on the ground without blinking, acting coolly and composedly. He was demanding for a right to speak with their leader before Ichigo could kill him.

"You want to talk?" Ichigo asked as he picked up the large blade resting on the wall beside him. He put it over his shoulders and gave him a look with that sent off a very simple message: why don't I kill you first and then we'll settle for a talk?

"I don't remember ever discussing anything with you before the attack. What makes you think that I will let you talk after you're done having your fun?"

His sword was out and he was ready to strike at the first hostile move.

"Kurosaki, wait a minute."

Hitsugaya came out, his katana back in its sheath. The all was clipped to a long ribbon that allowed him to carry his long weapon on his back. Hinamori followed suit in her long black cloak that radiated deadly vibes. Her message to the Quincy was perfectly clear: you mess this up and you're as good as dead.

"I was hoping that we could talk this out like civilized people," the Quincy said.

Hinamori sneered unladylike and gave him a contemptuous look. "You want to talk this out? You're not part of the civilized people to start with, you barbaric _Quincy_," Hinamori spat out.

"What did you say? How can you...?"

Hinamori interrupted him before he could go on any further. "Why don't you state your name first? Isn't that a basic form of politeness or did the Quincy run so low that they don't even greet people anymore?"

She did it on purpose. She wanted to irritate him; she wanted to test his patience. How long could he take it before he could actually attack them?

The Quincy _was_ very irritated by Hinamori's cocky tone, but he managed to keep his cool. "Very well, Miss," he said as he emphasized the word 'Miss' to show that he actually had manners and wasn't as retarded as a caveman. "I'm Ishida Uryuu, a Quincy, and here to rescue her highness."

Hinamori kept on asking her questions regardless of the consequences. She only needed a name and his purpose. She didn't need the Quincy to greet her eternally with all the forms of politeness he knew about. She wasn't about to drop the interrogatory until she knew absolutely _everything_.

"Tell me, why do you address Inoue Orihime as 'Princess' when she doesn't have a single drop of royal blood? The Quincy is not a Kingdom, yes?"

"Miss, you are mistaken. She is of royalty. Even if she is an indirect descendant of our Kingdom's royal family, she does have royal blood in her veins and more than a drop, I can assure you that."

Hinamori did not even give Hitsugaya a chance to step into their conversation. He could act as a listener while he listened carefully to Hinamori's clever choice of words. Hinamori knew exactly what to say and how to say it so that her opponent would give her whatever she needed and wanted from them.

Since Ishida had threatened her, she couldn't let him off without having him taste a bit of her wrath.

"Hitsugaya-sama," Hinamori called.

Hitsugaya turned toward her. Wind blew by.

"What?"

"I'll handle this. I suggest you and Suzuki Reiko-san return inside so that the two Quincy members who are now trying to sneak in wouldn't succeed in kidnapping the _Quincy Princess_."

Was Inoue Orihime really the Quincy Princess that Ishida was looking for? Hinamori had nothing that would confirm her theory about Inoue Orihime, so she couldn't be sure that she was the real target. But she knew that if Orihime was really the princess, then the Ishida person in front of her wouldn't stay there talking as calmly as he was at the moment without any other plans to snatch the princess away while he was distracting them.

"Please go. Kurosaki Ichigo will stay with me."

Hitsugaya gave her one last glance before turning around and walking back in a steady pace, his aura radiating out coldness, as if warning the Quincy that he would be watching even if he was wasn't there physically. It was totally unheard of him to obey so easily to anyone who wasn't of a higher rank than him, but he had seen enough of Hinamori to know that she wasn't your average type of girl.

He got a good grip on Reiko's kimono sleeve and pulled her with him gently but firmly. He literally ran over the two Quincy members who had frozen in place when they heard that they've been discovered by Hinamori. He knocked them out cold with two strong punches in their faces.

"Hey," she called as Ishida picked up his bow that he had previously dropped on the ground. "You're not going to talk anymore?"

Kurosaki Ichigo slowly took a few steps forward in a calm demeanor as if he was on a stroll. He went to stand right beside Hinamori and threateningly shoved his large black blade into the ground effortlessly. Deep fissures formed around blade, created by the huge impact the sword made on the ground. He rested his arm on the large blade's guard and grinned at Ishida who was staring, wondering what kind of monstrous strength he had. Ichigo, on his side, was showing Ishida that Hinamori wasn't alone.

"We only want our Princess back. Will you please stop asking questions and let me through? Or else, I won't promise how this war will end."

Hinamori raised her eyebrows exaggeratedly and gave him a dark laugh. "Quincy, if you take another step near this compound, _I_ won't promise how _you_ will end."

Effortlessly, she shot out three needles. It was so fast that Ishida hadn't even seen her taking them out in the first place. He stared at her questioningly, wondering why she had randomly started to swing her arm in the air, until three of his companions fell from their observation spot. A needle was sticking out of their neck. Hinamori brought her arm back and three other silver needles appeared between Hinamori's fingers. She showed them to Ishida on purpose as a warning.

"They aren't dead yet, but next time, I won't guarantee that their heart won't be crossing the path of my needles," Hinamori said threateningly.

Ishida did not put his bow down, but had stopped moving forward. He studied Hinamori carefully, as if looking for her weaknesses, and finally said, "Don't you think that it's impolite of you to not show your face or even give your name to someone who had introduced themselves?"

"Do I have a reason to give you my name?" Hinamori questioned him. Her temper was running short and that Ishida might just die if he dared to provoke her any further.

Ishida pushed up his glasses. "I heard that the mercenaries in the Night Rukongai Society had the obligation to give their names."

Hinamori almost growled. That person sure was annoying and irritating her to no end. It was a common rule in the Night Rukongai Society to give one's name when asked and being an assassin didn't give her the right to ignore their rules. It was known that the mercenaries who did not respect their own rules were to suffer a punishment a hundred times worst than the ones from the King.

She had to give him a response, but not necessarily her real name.

A deadly glint reflected in her dark orbs. "The Death Goddess greets you, _Quincy_."

Ishida raised his eyebrows. "You call yourself the _Death Goddess_. Aren't you a bit full of yourself?"

Hinamori shook off her hood to reveal her once hidden traits. She ran her tongue over lips hungrily. If that guy wanted to die, she sure could help him.

She stood up in her full height and gave him a look. "Why would I give myself such a ridiculous title? My _victims_ call me this way."

Ishida gritted his teeth and felt the threat. If what she said was true, then he had better be careful. No one would give her the title of Death Goddess if she didn't deserve it. No matter what she was being called, he would just have to beat her and get through to the Princess, their Princess, his Princess. No one would be in his way, not even a real Shinigami, the deadliest of all gods.

Before Ishida could decide what to do so that he would be the one benefiting, Hinamori crouched really low and put a foot on the walls behind to give herself a boost of energy. She pushed herself off the wall and took off like a rocket. She ran forward at the speed of a hunting jaguar. She grabbed the Quincy by the collar and before he could make a step aside to avoid the impact, she slammed him into a large tree trunk behind them. She leaned forward and whispered something into his ear. The Quincy stared at her for a few seconds before answering in the same quiet voice she was using.

Hinamori grinned with satisfaction and let go of his collar. She took a few steps backwards before she flipped backward until she reached Ichigo's sides. The orange haired man was waiting for her patiently without interrupting. He wasn't the type to stand by during fights, but the Quincy was something they had to treat with delicately.

The Quincy archer was looking at Hinamori differently, as if he had grown respect for her in such short moment. He fired an arrow into the sky and it exploded into a red smoke high in the sky. It was the signal for their retreat. Ishida bowed at Hinamori and Ichigo before disappearing behind the roofs. All Quincy disappeared without leaving a trace.

It wasn't long before Hitsugaya joined them.

"Hinamori, what happened? I was fighting three of them and they suddenly all left."

Hinamori pointed toward the sky once Hitsugaya came into view. Without a word, he looked up and immediately understood what she was trying to tell him. The red smoke cloud could not have a second meaning. Seeing that the danger was gone, he put his katana back into its sheath.

Hinamori then turned toward him. She didn't let Hitsugaya approached her; instead, she backed away in a gracious flip and landed on the rooftop.

"Sorry, Captain, but we're taking Inoue Orihime with us."

Hitsugaya didn't understand what she was trying to tell him at all.

"What?"

It was a mistake for him to have put his katana back so quickly. Ichigo knocked him out cold as soon as he was unarmed. Before falling, his eyes widened and the last thing he saw was Hinamori's usual gentle face disappearing behind a cruel smirk.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**District 83, Rukongai, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, Night**

A small silhouette walked up to the man who sat on a stone throne.

"The Black Rose of Shinigami is back," said a quiet voice.

"Let her in."

"Yes, master," said the small girl as she gave a polite bow.

The Black Rose walked in briskly, her long cloak swaying behind her. She bowed deeply in respect for the master.

"I have sent out the invitations."

"That is wonderful," the Master replied.

He stood up and for the first time, he stepped out from behind the silky black curtain. He smirked and walked down gracefully the few steps leading him down the throne. The small girl followed after him just like a shadow.

"I guess it's finally time for them to see my real face."

The Black Rose kneeled down and her cloak dropped around her. She bent her head in submission.

"Greetings, your highness," she said.

All the other people present in the room all kneeled down just like the Black Rose.

"This is the start of a new reign," the Master of Shinigami said, showing pearly white teeth.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Seireitei, Kuchiki Kingdom  
****April 18th, Night**

In the royal palace, silver hair and a Captain haori flapped in the night wind.

"It is time for war."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**

**Chapter Eighteen **is coming up next.

Next time on **Toxic** : Greetings, Members of the Gotei 13

You have received an invitation to participate in the Shinigami/Soul Reaper's Death Festival. It is an opportinuty to challenge the strongest of all mercenaries and to test out your own strength. The winner will have the honor to join the fearful Shinigami Organization without having to pass the Entrance Exam, which no one has ever succeed except the founders of Shinigami of course.

To participate:

- you are member of an illegal or secret organization  
- you will need five members and a healer (optional)  
- you must not leak out this information

The Death Festival will start on the first full moon of the month of May. We will be waiting for you.

~ Shingamis ~

P.S. If his Majesty King Kuchiki Byakuya wishes to participate, we are welcoming him with the greatest honors.

* * *

Thanks for reading and revewing. Please send me your feedbacks by **Review**.

**- Snow Wing**


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